My Twenty Five Years In China

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KANSASCfTY, MO PUBLIC LIBRARY

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
IN CHINA

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

*JEW IOHE BOSTON CHICAGO
DALLAS ATLANTA SAN FBANCJSCO

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

LONDON * BOMBAY CALCUTTA
MAPBAS MILBOUBNJ

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

OF CANADA, LIMITED

TOBOMTO

MY

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
IN CHINA

BY JOHN B. POWELL

NEW YORK

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1945

Co?YRIGHTj, 1942 AND 1945, BY

J. B. POWELL.

All rigfets reserved no part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in writing
from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes
to quote brief passages in connection with a review
written for Inclusion in magazine or newspaper.

First printing.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To all those 'who were instrumental in effecting my
release from the Japanese, and to the many others
whose active help and sympathy, since my return, have
materially aided my recovery: this book is dedicated.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I Eastward Ho! i

II So This Is Shanghai! 7

III An International City 1 8

IV Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shih-kai 28
V Shadows of Civil War 35

VI The Lansing-Ishii "Incident" 43

VII Russians in Shanghai 51

. VIII Editor As Lobbyist 6 1

IX Shantung and Washington 71

X Wars in the North 83

XI Incident of the Blue Express 92

XII Affairs in South China 1 25

XIII Factional Troubles of the 1 920*5 132

XIV Fighting in Shanghai 141
XV Diplomatic Juggling on Intervention 161

XVI China and USSR at War 170

XVII "Real" Start of World War II 1 82

XVIII Russia, China, and Japan 193

XIX Vladivostok 202

XX Across Siberia 215

XXI Moscow in '35 227

XXII Home, Via Japan 239

XXIII The Philippines in '36 247

CHAPTER

XXIV The Sian Incident

XXV A Bear by the Tail

XXVI Sequel of Sian

XXVII Mounting Tension

XXVIII American Ships, Japanese Bombs, in 1937

XXIX Working for "The Trib"

XXX The Pressure Increases

XXXI Bomb and Bayonet

XXXII Shadow of the Hun

XXXIII History Punctuated

XXXIV Japanese "Efficiency"
XXXV Horrors of Bridge House

XXXVI "Dangerous Thoughts"

XXXVII Yanlcee Grain in China

XXXVIII On the Exchange List

XXXIX Homeward Bound

XL China's Future
Index

PAGE

270

2 7 8
293

305
320

325

334
343
355
364
37
383
39*
399
45

417
423

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
IN CHINA

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I Eastward Ho! i

II So This Is Shanghai! 7

III An International City 18

IV Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shih-kai 28
V Shadows of Civil War 35

VI The Lansing-Ishii "Incident" 43

VII Russians in Shanghai 5 1

VIII Editor As Lobbyist 6 1

IX Shantung and Washington 71

X Wars in the North 83

XI Incident of the Blue Express 92

XII Affairs in South China 115

XIII Factional Troubles of the 1920'$ 132

XIV Fighting in Shanghai 141
XV Diplomatic Juggling on Intervention 161

XVI China and USSR at War 170

XVII "Real" Start of World War II 182

XVIII Russia, China, and Japan 193

XIX Vladivostok 202

XX Across Siberia 215

XXI Moscow in '35 227

XXII Home, Via Japan 239

XXIII The Philippines in '36 247

CHAPTER

XXIV The Sian Incident

XXV A Bear by the Tail

XXVI Sequel of Sian

XXVII Mounting Tension

XXVIII American Ships, Japanese Bombs, in 1937

XXIX Working for "The Trib"

XXX The Pressure Increases

XXXI Bomb and Bayonet

XXXII Shadow of the Hun

XXXIII History Punctuated

XXXIV Japanese "Efficiency"
XXXV Horrors of Bridge House

XXXVI "Dangerous Thoughts"

XXXVII Yankee Grain in China

XXXVIII On the Exchange List

XXXIX Homeward Bound

XL China's Future
Index

PAGE
256

270

2 7 8
293

320

325

334
343

355
364
370

383
392

399
45
417

423

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
IN CHINA

Eastward Ho!

THE SMALL CARGO BOAT upon which I was a passenger edged
slowly up to a jetty in the Hongkew section of Shanghai, and I
walked ashore carrying my suitcase. It was early in February,
1917. A baggage coolie followed, carrying on his shoulder my
old-fashioned tin-covered trunk. It was raining, and the narrow
streets between the shipping godowns, or warehouses, which
lined the Whangpoo River were running with sloppy mud. Two
ricksha coolies dashed up, and while there was sufficient room
in the man-drawn vehicles for both passenger and baggage, I
chose to walk to the hotel, the Astor House. I had seen rickshas
in Japan, had ridden in one in Yokohama, but I was still too new
to the Orient to feel at ease in a vehicle drawn by a human being.

My trip to the Orient, destined to develop into active news-
paper work for a quarter of a century in one of the most politi-
cally turbulent areas on earth, had been inspired by a cable from
Thomas Franklin Fairfax Millard, an alumnus of the University
of Missouri, who had become widely known as a correspondent
in the Far East.

Millard's cable, which was dated at Shanghai and addressed
to Dean Walter Williams of the School of Journalism of the
university, stated that he wished to employ a graduate of the
school to assist him in starting a paper in Shanghai. Dean Williams
handed me the cable, the first transoceanic telegram I had ever
seen.

For some time I had been trying to make up my mind regard-
ing two offers, one from the publisher of a trade journal in Des
Moines, Iowa, and the other from the publisher of a newspaper

2 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

in Atlanta, Georgia, who required an assistant. The idea of a trip
to the Orient was too much of a temptation, however, and after
talking the offer over with my wife and my colleagues, I began
to wind up my work at the university.

Unlike the hero in an Upton Sinclair novel, who was "born
to the realm of international society and diplomatic intrigue," I
was born on a northeast Missouri farm, attended and later taught
in a country school, and earned my way through high school and
business college in Quincy, Illinois, by carrying two newspaper
routes, morning and evening. Later I worked as a cub reporter
on the old Quincy Whig in order to obtain funds to pay my fare
to the University of Missouri, where I enrolled in the new
School of Journalism. Four years later, after graduation, I re-
turned to northeast Missouri to work on the Courier-Post in
Hannibal, a town immortalized as the boyhood residence of
Mark Twain. After four years as a circulation solicitor, adver-
tising manager, and city editor, I returned to the university as
instructor in journalism.

Like other American youths of the period and locality, my
total knowledge of such distant strange lands as China and Japan
had been acquired from a few chapters and some misleading
maps in the school geographies and history textbooks. Even in
the university I remembered only one or two history lecture
periods in which the professor in "ancient, mediaeval and
modem" history referred to China; and these references were not
complimentary to that country.

To be sure, I had known students from both China and Japan
who had enrolled in journalism courses at the university. One, a
Chinese named Hin Wong, from Honolulu and Canton, co-
operated with me in organizing a Cosmopolitan Club which in-
cluded all of the foreign students in the university. The idea of
forming such a club had developed from an article I had written
for the college paper about foreign students in the university.
Another Chinese who had enrolled in one of my classes was
Hollington K. Tong, from Shanghai. Both Wong and Tong were
destined later to become prominent in journalism in their home-

EASTWARD HO! 3

land, but on opposite sides of the political fence. Another student
from the Orient, a Japanese named Toda, was the shortest in
stature, but the best drilled cadet in my company in the student
military corps. I didn't know then that he had already served
three years* as a conscript in the Japanese Army before coming
to the United States.

The fact that I was actually going to Shanghai to help start
a newspaper caused me to be regarded with much curiosity and
some envy on the part of my associates at the university. The
fac*- <-hat I had no advance knowledge whatever regarding the
type uf paper that was to be started naturally did not help my
peace of mind. I was the object of much humorous questioning;
could I read "chicken tracks," one friend inquired, and added
to my confusion by producing a receipt from the local Chinese
laundry and asking me to decipher it. The college barber asked
whether I wanted a "queue" haircut.

My apprehension regarding the job in China increased as the
scheduled date of my departure neared. I had once written an
outline and description of an office system for a small-town
newspaper plant, which had been published by a trade journal
and had been widely adopted. Would this be of any use in my
new job? What kind of paper would the new Shanghai journal
be? Would I write editorials, solicit ads and subscribers and do
everything else, as in a typical country newspaper office? I was
accustomed to this type of journalism, as I had done everything
in a small-town daily office except set type. I wondered if the
Chinese had printers' unions. Also, I wondered whether Chinese
papers had linotype machines capable of setting 5,000 characters
or ideographs, which I was told often appeared in a single issue
of a Chinese newspaper.

Feeling the need of more information about the lands I was
to visit, I went to the university library, where I found only
two descriptive books. They were "Chinese Characteristics"
and "Village Life in China," both by the same author, Dr.
Arthur H. Smith, a veteran of the Gospel, who had spent more
than a half century as a missionary in China. He was widely

4 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IX CHINA

known for his humorous lectures, and his humor was to some
extent evident in his descriptions of China and its people.
Chinese students in American universities disliked the books
because of the author's bizarre impressions of Chinese life. Once,
shortly after my arrival in Shanghai, I heard Dr. Smith deliver
a lecture dealing with political conditions in Peking, where the
Republican Government had just weathered a crisis in which
reactionary interests had plotted to restore the Manchu Dynasty.
Dr. Smith was then on his way to the United States to retire.
The feelings of everyone, particularly newcomers in the audi-
ence, were at a low ebb as Dr. Smith concluded his talk by
saying, "China is standing on the brink of a precipice." But the
tension was relieved when the speaker, with a humorous twinkle
in his eyes, added, as an afterthought, "In fact the country has
been on the brink of a precipice ever since I arrived in it a half
century ago."

I finally sailed from San Francisco, in January, 1917, on the
ancient Japanese passenger steamer Nippon Maru. At that time
I did not think the United States would be drawn into the war,
then in its third year. But there was an ominous happening
when our boat reached Nagasaki, last stop in Japan before sail-
ing for China. I went ashore with the other passengers and was
exploring the shops of that ancient Nipponese city, the first
place in Japan to have contact with Europeans, when a mes-
senger from the ship came running with a note from the captain
stating that it was necessary for all passengers scheduled for
Shanghai to return to the ship at once and get their baggage.
The captain had received instructions from the head office of
the steamship company, the old Toyo Kisen Kaisha line in
Yokohama, to drop all Shanghai passengers at Nagasaki and
proceed directly to Manila. Two or three other passengers and
I, who had tickets for Shanghai, thus found ourselves marooned
in the strange little Japanese port of Nagasaki.

Inquiry at the Nagasaki steamship offices disclosed that no
steamer carrying passengers was scheduled to sail for Shanghai

EASTWARD HO! 5

for three weeks. As my funds were running low, I decided to
investigate the possibility of obtaining passage on a cargo boat,
several of which were loading in the harbor. After paddling
about the harbor in a sampan for some time I finally found a
captain who was willing to provide a cabin in exchange for the
unused portion of my trans-Pacific ticket, plus $10 in American
money and on condition that I provide my own food. The boat
was sailing in a few hours, hence I had time only to get my
baggage and purchase a few articles of food for the run across
the China Sea. The captain of the cargo boat spoke little English
and evinced little interest in his American passenger.

The weather was cold and cloudy, but after the ship had
cleared the western cape of Kyushu the sun came out and it
became quite warm. I began to notice a disagreeable odor about
the ship, which rapidly became nauseating as the weather mod-
erated. I appealed to the captain as to the cause of the odor. The
captain pointed to large bales of merchandise wrapped in straw
matting which were exposed on the deck and in the open
hatches, and said, "Rotten fish only Chinaman eat." It took
me several weeks to get the smell of that cargo out of my clothes,
and the memory of it remained with me through the years.

It was fortunate I had embarked on this ship, however, be-
cause another ship, the Poltava, of Russian Vladivostok registry,
upon which some of the passengers sailed about a week later,
was caught in a typhoon in the China Sea and driven ashore on
the coast south of Shanghai. The passengers were saved with
great difficulty.

I had not known until I reached San Francisco on my way
to the Orient that the only passenger or cargo ships engaged in
trans-Pacific trade at that time were of Japanese registry. Cap-
tain Robert Dollar, who later became an extensive operator of
steamship lines on the Pacific, had been forced to transfer his
cargo ships to Canadian registry, and the Pacific Mail, the only
American passenger line, had withdrawn its ships to the South
American and Panama Canal routes. The situation which had
driven the few American ships from the Pacific at such a crucial

6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

time, when America was on the verge of war, had resulted from
the passage by Congress of the original La Follette Act de-
signed by the liberal Wisconsin Senator to help American sea-
men. One provision In the act forbade American ship owners
to employ Oriental seamen. Since American ships with highly
paid American crews had to compete with Japanese and British
ships, both of which employed full crews of low-salaried Ori-
ental seamen, It was impossible for the American lines to
continue operating. They therefore either withdrew from the
field or switched to British registry, which always permitted
the employment of Chinese merchant seamen, long considered
as efficient and trustworthy as the seamen of any nationality.
Since most British-registered ships had been withdrawn to the
Atlantic because of the war, the result was that the Japanese
were left in complete control of the Pacific. After the war
American shipping under Federal assistance, in the form of
government-built ships with fantastic mail contracts, returned
to the Pacific; but the fact remains that for a considerable period
during America's participation in World War I the United
States possessed on the broad Pacific no important ships of any
kind except a few naval vessels.

II

So Is

THE ASTOR HOUSE HOTEL, then Shanghai's leading hostelry, had
grown from a boarding house established originally by the
skipper of some early American clipper, who left his ship at
Shanghai. He christened his establishment in honor of the then
most famous hotel in the United States, the Astor House in New
York; however, he was compelled to add the designation "hotel,"
as the fame of the New York hostelry had not yet reached the
China coast. Aside from the name, the two establishments had
little in common, as the Astor House in Shanghai consisted of
old three- and four-story brick residences extending around the
four sides of a city block and linked together by long corridors.
In the center of the compound was a courtyard where an
orchestra played in the evenings. Practically everyone dressed
for dinner, which never was served before eight o'clock. At
one time or another one saw most of the leading residents of
the port at dinner parties or in the lobby of the Astor House.
An old resident of Shanghai once told me, "If you will sit in
the lobby of the Astor House and keep your eyes open you
will see all of the crooks who hang out on the China coast."

At the hotel I asked the clerk where I might find my boss-
to-be, Mr. Millard, and was relieved to learn that he lived there
and would come down to the lobby shortly. What would he be
like? Soon a Chinese boy called my attention to a man coming
down the stairs. He was a short, slender man weighing perhaps
125 pounds and dressed so perfectly that I wondered how he
would be able to sit down without wrinkling his immaculate
suit.

8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

I soon learned that my boss, who had served the old New
York Herald many years, first as dramatic critic and later as
international political correspondent, had taken on many of
rhe eccentricities of his employer, the late James Gordon
Bennett.

1 naturally was anxious to obtain answers to a hundred ques-
tions concerning my new job, but Millard appeared in no hurry
to enlighten me. In fact we were soon the center of an interest-
ing group of local residents who strolled in for afternoon tea,
but the "tea" they consumed consisted chiefly of cocktails and
whisky-sodas.

The profusion of drinks aroused my curiosity, because I had
grown up in dry local-option territory in the Middle West, and
America was within a few years of the "great experiment'* of
1920 when I sailed from San Francisco.

The circle about our table expanded and the Chinese boy
added a new table to hold the accumulating bottles and glasses.
A$ the newcomers came up and were introduced they usually
ordered a new round of drinks, which meant that each finally
had several drinks standing on the table. After the boy had
brought the drinks he would present the one who placed the
order with a little piece of paper called a "chit," which no one
ever looked at before signing.

While waiting in the lobby for Mr. Millard, I had seen on
a bulletin board a Reuter dispatch from one of the local English
newspapers carrying the momentous news that the United States
had broken off diplomatic relations with Germany. It was Feb-
ruary 3, 1917. But the conversation about the table did not
concern America's entrance into the war; on the contrary it
was confined to the subject of possible prohibition in the United
States and the increasing cost of drinks in Shanghai due to the
shortage of shipping from England. Agreement was unanimous
that Shanghai would never go dry, and that the British were
more intelligent, on the liquor question at least, than were the
Americans.

so THIS is SHANGHAI! 9

Suddenly the conversation became hushed as a gray-haired
man of medium height entered the lobby and approached our
table. I was introduced to him, Thomas Sammons, American
Consul-General, a likable official, who was constantly obsessed
by the fear that something would happen in the community
which might involve him in complications with the State De-
partment.

America's entrance into the war later added tremendously to
the Consul-General's responsibilities and anxieties, due to the
character of the government of the International Settlement.
Since China was still neutral, German and Austrian consuls and
their nationals went about their affairs practically without re-
straint, although all Britons and most Americans had ceased
speaking to them or doing business with them.

When the group finally broke up, Mr. Millard suggested
that I take a room at the Astor House and introduced me to the
manager, Captain Harry Morton. Since most of the managers
of the Astor House had been sea captains, the hotel had taken
on many of the characteristics of a ship. The corridors were
painted to resemble the passageways leading to the staterooms
of a passenger liner. I was therefore not surprised when the
manager told me that he could give me a room in the "steerage"
for $125 a month, including meals and afternoon tea. That
figured out at about $60 in United States currency.

It was not until the next day in his apartment that I had
opportunity to discuss my new job with Mr. Millard, and to get
some of the background of his own experience in China.

Millard first went to China as a foreign correspondent foi
the New York Herald to cover the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. At
this time, and during his later coverage of the Russo-Japanese
War in 1905 and 1906, he became acquainted with the Chinese
political leaders, including Yuan Shih-kai, Tong Shao-yi, Wu
Ting-fang, F. C. Tong, organizer of the first modern bank in
Shanghai, and the Kuomintang leader, Dr, Sun Yat-senu China

SO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

at that rime was still an empire, but there was plenty of evidence
indicating that a revolution was brewing. In 1911 Millard
founded the first American newspaper in China, the China
Press at Shanghai. In this enterprise he was assisted by B. W.
Fleisher, who later became publisher of the Japan Advertiser,
in Tokyo. Most of the money for the purchase of type and
mechanical equipment for the China Press was supplied by
Charles R. Crane, a Chicago manufacturer, who became a
stockholder and director in the enterprise. Crane had diplomatic
ambitions. In 1909 he was appointed Minister to China, but re-
signed before assuming his official duties; later he accepted the
post after World War I.

A number of well known Chinese in Shanghai, including
Tong Shao-yi, and some bankers had also agreed to purchase
stock in the new paper, but when Millard arrived in Shanghai
with his machinery, he discovered that some of the leading
Chinese who had agreed to cooperate with him had developed
cold feet. Investigation disclosed that the opposition paper, the
long-established British organ, the North China Daily News,
had been responsible. That paper, known as the N.C.D.N.,
was the leading British organ outside of Hong Kong, and the
proprietors naturally desired no American competition, par-
ticularly of the type of the China Press, which always had a
number of Chinese stockholders and editorially supported Chi-
nese Nationalism and American-Chinese cooperation. The
American population of Shanghai, although small, was growing
and there was a general feeling that it should have an American
paper.

The North China Daily News had further reason for op-
posing the establishment of an American newspaper when
the China Press by its enterprising methods, comics and other
features soon passed the British paper in circulation. But the
China Press could not exist on circulation revenues alone, and
soon was in financial difficulties. Millard was forced to resign
the editorship, and the principal interest in the paper was
taken over by a local American real estate and insurance

so THIS is SHANGHAI! n

concern, which promptly sold a controlling interest, at a hand-
some profit, to a local Briton.

This was the newspaper set-up when I arrived in Shanghai,
in 1917, to help Mr. Millard establish another paper, this time
a weekly, which he had decided to call Millard? s Review of the
Far East. Aside from the purchase of type and a supply of paper,
nothing had been done to get the publication started, so that it
devolved upon me to officiate at the birth of the new American
journal

Office space adjacent to the printing plant was rented, and
we set to work. More questions: "Would we do our own print-
ing or make a contract with a commercial printing house? "
"How much circulation did Mr. Millard think we would have?"
"Where would we obtain our advertising?" "Would the Chi-
nese read our paper?" Finally I asked one question which
brought a quick and unexpected response. The question was,
"What will we print in the paper?" Straightening up stiffly in
his chair, Millard snapped, "Anything we damn please."

When I repeated this declaration of editorial policy to po-
tential subscribers and advertisers as I made my rounds among
the foreign and Chinese merchants, I always got a laugh for,
as I learned later, it was Millard's insistence on printing "any-
thing he damn pleased" which had caused his resignation from
the editorship of the China Press. Millard never modified his prin-
ciples on the fundamentals of the Far Eastern situation as so
many of his colleagues did for a quick profit.

Busy days followed. An office was rented and a contract
signed with an ancient printing establishment owned by French
Jesuit priests, who were happy to have our new American type
in their plant. But I was dismayed to learn that neither the
Chinese foreman nor any member of the numerous Chinese
typesetting staff knew a single word of the English language.
When I explained this predicament to the manager of the print-
ing plant, Mr. Cowan, an American printer-manager who had
gone to China originally as foreman of a plant owned by Protes-
tant missionaries, he laughed and said it was better for the native

12 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

printers not to understand what they were setting up in type,
for if they did understand English they would constantly be
trying to improve on the reporter's and editor's copy with
disastrous results. I later discovered, however, to my sorrow,
that a Chinese printer's inability to understand what he was
setting up in type also had its dangers. A reporter sent the office
boy with a note to a nearby bar inquiring, "What in 'ell has
happened to the beer I ordered?" In some mysterious manner
this note got into the personals, and it caused considerable ques-
tioning on the part of our missionary subscribers. On another
occasion the proprietress of a resort in the "Kiangsi Road" (red
light) district sent out an engraved invitation to a selected list
of the town's bachelors announcing a reception to meet some
new recruits who had recently arrived from San Francisco. The
notice fell into the hands of a Chinese reporter, who put it in
the society column, causing a commotion among the town's
housewives. But this was only part of the education of a new
editor.

While getting out sample columns illustrating our different
fonts of type for heads, text, and advertisements, I made a sur-
vey of our field and tried to pick out a typical reader
obviously a difficult task in Shanghai, where the Anglo-Ameri-
can community at that time numbered probably no more than
8,000 or 10,000 individuals and was about equally divided be-
tween business people and missionaries. I soon found that our
possible readers were not confined to the American and British
communities. There were several thousand other foreign resi-
dents in Shanghai Scandinavians, Frenchmen, Germans, Rus-
sians, Portuguese, Dutchmen, and a large population of Oriental
Jews, most of them from Iraq, who had come to Shanghai many
years previously by way of India. Several were fabulously rich.
Many of the foreigners could read English and were anxious
to see a paper containing American news and editorial comment.
I discovered, however, that the largest English-reading group
of all was the younger generation of Chinese, the intellectuals,
graduates and undergraduates of mission and municipal schools,

so THIS is SHANGHAI! 13

who were just beginning to take an interest in outside world
affairs. They were tremendously concerned by the World War,
and, like everybody else, were deeply anxious to find out what
America was going to do about the war and a number of other
things. For the first time I began to realize the importance of
America's position in world affairs. All these people were study-
ing the English language, and I soon discovered that hundreds
of students were using the Review as a textbook. We constantly
received letters inquiring about the meaning of words, particu-
larly when we had given them an American twist.

These bright young Chinese college and middle-school grad-
uates, including many young women, were employed in the
offices of the large foreign and Chinese trading houses, factories,
banks, newspaper offices, on the faculties and staffs of colleges
and universities, and in the professions and in government
offices. Old-time officials and executives were helpless without
these young modern educated assistants.

I always credited myself with being the first foreign editor
in China to discover the young English-reading Chinese sub-
scriber. I promoted the organization of study clubs and classes
in current events in the colleges and universities, the members
of which subscribed for our paper in dozen or even in hundred
lots. I taught a course in journalism in one of the colleges myself,

I also discovered another class of reader, most important for
any paper in the Far East. He was the "out-port" subscriber
who lived in some out-of-the-way place and might be a mis-
sionary, a buyer of native products for some coastal import and
export house, or a salesman in some interior town for a foreign
cigarette house or oil company. Again he might be a British,
American, Scandinavian, or what-not customs officer stationed
at some frontier point, or he might even be a lighthouse tender
"gone native" on some lonely island off the coast. These people
were hungry for "something to read," and they lived out of the
advertising pages. One not-to-be-forgotten subscriber was an
Englishman who was captain of a tramp steamer that touched at

14 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Shanghai only once In six months. He would visit the office and
take his half-year's supply of papers in a bundle to the ship.
Then he would place them carefully in a pile in his stateroom
and 'have his cabin boy bring one copy, the oldest, every morn-
ing as he ate his breakfast. Nothing could Induce him to change
the routine, not even news of a major engagement on the
western front.

But the typical subscriber! Never was an editor more sorely
tried in attempting to picture in his mind a typical subscriber
a combination American, Briton, Continental European, Chi-
nese intellectual, businessman, missionary, what not. I gave it
up and decided to print the kind of paper that anyone could
pick up with assurance of finding a fairly complete story of
what had happened In our local, national, and international Far
Eastern world. In deciding on the relative importance of hap-
penings in the international field I always kept in mind the fact
that since Shanghai was one of the world's largest ports there
were as many people interested in business, financial, and eco-
nomic news as there were Interested in politics or religion. This
was in 1917, before there was a Newsweek, Reader's Digest, or
Time to serve as a model But we did have the Literary Digest,
the New Republic of Walter Llppmann and Herbert Croly, and
later the Nation of Oswald Garrison Vlllard. We had permis-
sion to follow the general form of the New Republic, then
regarded as the most attractive paper, typographically, in
America. However, we differed from the New Republic as to
content, as we printed more 8-point matter, consisting of news
reports and contributed articles dealing with political, com-
mercial, and financial subjects more along the line of the English
economic reviews.

An advance notice mailed to prospective subscribers brought
In more than a thousand subscription orders, most of them ac-
companied by checks. It seemed that we had a field!

Work started in earnest on the first number, which we de-
cided to publish on June 2, 1917. Several days prior to the date

so THIS is SHANGHAI! 15

for which issuance of Vol. i, No. i was scheduled, I happened
to meet one of the officials of the United States Court for China,
the presiding judge at that time being Charles S. Lobingier, from
Nebraska. The court official told me confidentially that the
judge was working on an important decision, and we might be
able to obtain a scoop for our first edition if we would hold
off publication for a week. I investigated, and decided the delay
was justified which explained why the first issue of MttlarcTs
Review of the Far East happened to be dated June 9, the second
Saturday of the month, instead of June 2, the first Saturday, as
originally intended.

Judge Lobingier's decision was a momentous one and caused
unexpected repercussions, one being the undying hatred of an
influential group of local promoters headed by an American
named Frank J. Raven. This hatred was directed not only at
the judge of the court but at our paper, which had published
the exclusive report of the decision. The case involved the
refusal of the court to permit Raven and his associates to
incorporate the American-Oriental Banking Corporation, a
private bank, under the regulations of the court. Aside
from the legal elements involved, the judge's decision re-
ferred to the necessity of preventing "loose and reckless in-
corporation" by Americans in their commercial activities in
China.

Dating back to the American occupation of the Philippines,
Shanghai had served as headquarters for American get-rich-
quick operators and adventurers. Most of this gentry had gone
to the Philippines following the occupation, but had been forced
to get out by the first Civil Governor, William Howard Taft.
Being unable to operate in the British Colony of Hong Kong,
most of them came to Shanghai, where there were no restric-
tions. As a result Shanghai became the base of operation for
salesmen of fake jewelry, worthless stocks, patent medicines,
dangerous drugs, etc. One group had promoted an insurance
company with the object of unloading the stock on rich Chinese
in Malaya, and were astonished when Chinese business flowed

1 6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEAJR.S IN CHINA

in and the company unexpectedly became prosperous and
respectable.

Raven had come to China from California and obtained a
position in the Public Works Department of the municipal
government of the International Settlement. He worked in the
department long enough to obtain information regarding new
road extensions, then resigned and organized a real estate com-
pany. Using his inside knowledge of the location of new roads
and streets, the company successfully promoted a new subdi-
vision which it called "Columbia Circle." With this start the
company branched into various promotional activities, including
the organization of the American-Oriental Banking Corpora-
tion, Raven Trust Company, American Finance Company, and
various other enterprises, retail and industrial, all of a specula-
tive character. Shares in the various enterprises were widely sold
to Chinese and foreigners, and the banks launched an intensive
drive for deposits in the missionary community and among
foreign residents* of the Settlement.

Although distrusted by responsible businessmen and bankers,
Raven promoted his "Wallingford" enterprises by clever adver-
tising and came to exercise considerable influence in local affairs,
on occasion even dominating official policies of the American
Consul and Minister. His enterprises finally collapsed like the
proverbial house of cards, resulting in widespread losses in the
foreign and Chinese communities. Some of the mission boards
lost large sums which they had invested in Raven's securities,
and thousands of depositors in the American-Oriental Bank,
trust company and finance company lost their nest eggs. Most
serious were losses suffered in the Russian and other non- Amer-
ican communities which were led by Raven's high-powered
publicity to believe that the American flag with which he so
copiously decorated his literature guaranteed security for the
capital and high rate of interest he paid on deposits. Raven's
activities had much to do in discrediting the system of extrater-
ritoriality, as he had taken advantage of its provisions to build
up his house of cards.

so THIS is SHANGHAI! 17

The I^st chapter in Raven's activities was written in 1935,
in the form of a heavy sentence for the promoter and two or
three of his associates in the United States Court for China at
Shanghai. The judge who convicted Raven was Milton J.
Helmick of New Mexico, and the special prosecutor who un-
raveled the tangled web of Raven's promotional activities was
George Sellett of Illinois, who went to China as a professor in
the Shanghai Law College, which was established by American
missionaries.

Ill

An International City

I HAD NOT REALIZED, as I went ashore at -Shanghai that Febru-
ary day in 1917, that the jetties and godowns which lined both
banks of the Whangpoo River for many miles had once re-
sounded to the shouts of American sailors as they loaded and
unloaded cargoes from sailing ships which had made the long
voyage around the Horn, up the west coast of both Americas
to Vancouver Island and the Aleutians for cargoes of furs, and
then across the Pacific, perhaps by way of Hawaii, to the coast
of Asia.

There was a long period in the first half of the nineteenth
century when the trade of Canton, Manila, and Shanghai, as well
as shipping along the China coast and on the Yangtze River, was
dominated by a famous Yankee firm, Russell and Company. The
old godowns of this company, resembling blockhouses because
of their solid construction, still extended along the Shanghai
Bund, or river-bank street, fronting the French Concession and
the native Nantao area for several blocks. Founded about 1818
by Samuel Russell of Middletown, Connecticut, this firm, with
its head office in Boston, did more business in China than any
other American house and contributed materially, with its trade
and profits, to the economic well-being of the infant American
Republic, which was having hard going following the disrup-
tion of its political and economic ties with Great Britain.

Russell and Company began to decline in the middle of the
century, and as a consequence of serious financial reverses
suffered as a result of the American Civil War and the Taiping
Rebellion in China (1848-1865) it was forced to sell its various
properties and retire from business in 1877. Its large fleet in

18

AN INTERNATIONAL CITY 1$

China waters and its extensive property holdings in all Chinese
ports were taken over by the Chinese Government and in-
corporated into the China Merchants Steam Navigation Com-
pany. This company continued in operation up to the outbreak
of the China-Japan war in 1937, when most of the ships and
much of the property were taken over by William P. Hunt
and Company, an American concern, in order to prevent
seizure by the Japanese. However, all of the valuable properties
of the company passed into Japanese hands following Pearl
Harbor.

Shanghai, more than any other Oriental port, showed the
results of early American influence. Shanghai owed its curious
form of international municipal administration to an early
American merchant consul named Cunningham, who in 1852
put up the American flag in the British Concession and claimed
equal rights despite the protests of the indignant British Consul.
The Chinese, embarrassed by the row among the foreigners,
sought to settle it by offering the Americans a concession of
equal size north of Soochow Creek on the northern border of
the British Concession. Local Americans accepted the Chinese
gift, and our mission boards established their offices and resi-
dences in the area, which was 'known as Hongkew. But Wash-
ington refused to ratify the deal, declaring it was contrary to
our policy to assume jurisdiction over Chinese territory. When
the Americans at Shanghai learned that their government had
turned them down, they induced the Chinese to permit the
amalgamation of Hongkew with the British area south of
Soochow Creek, and thus the "International" Settlement came
into being. Later another area known as Yangtzepoo was added,
and in time the section "north of the creek," originally regarded
as slums, became the richest industrial area in China. The British
and later the Japanese established their cotton mills in that
section, as it was adjacent to canal and river transportation, but,
of more importance, it was even closer to vast pools of cheap,
skillful, industrious, and generally docile Chinese labor. Most

20 AIY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of the modem industrial development which the Americans
brought to Shanghai, including a modern power plant, also went
into the Hongkew area.

Chinese industrial establishments, which exceeded in num-
ber and importance those of the foreigners at Shanghai in the
past decade, were located chiefly in the Chapei section adjoining
Hongkew. Here too was located the famous Commercial Press,
rated as one of the largest and most complete printing establish-
ments in the world, and the most advanced industrial enterprise
in the Orient in the treatment of its thousands of laborers.

Shanghai in 1917, from the standpoint of modern develop-
ment, reminded one of an American country town, despite the
fact it was one of the world's leading seaports. Shanghai was
listed among the first half dozen ports of the world in ocean-
borne merchandise which crossed its wharves, but the major
part of the tonnage was not carried by sea-going craft; it was
carried on native Chinese junks which plied the eastern seas
from Vladivostok to Singapore. Shanghai, early in 1917, had
more than a million and a half people but did not have a single
paved street. It had a small electric light plant, which belonged
to the municipality, and a primitive telephone system, owned
by the subscribers. The telephone system was operated with
cumbersome instruments made in Sweden, which required per-
sistent cranking in order to get the operator. Once there were
international complications when an exasperated American busi-
nessman, whose conversation was repeatedly interrupted, tore
his telephone off the wall and threw it out of the window
into the street. The manager of the telephone company, who
was British, refused to install a new phone in the American's
office. The American then appealed to the American Consul and
charged discrimination and violation of treaty rights tinder the
Open Door doctrine. Friends finally intervened, and the Ameri-
can's phone was restored without the matter being referred to
the State Department and the British Foreign Office,

Both the telephone company and the power plant were later

AN INTERNATIONAL CITY 21

purchased by Americans and modernized, but when I made my
first visit to the office of the electricity department in the
municipal building, to have lights installed at my office, I had
my first glimpse of a "punkah" fan. The punkah was said to
have been invented in India; it consisted of a large oblong bam-
boo frame, covered with cheesecloth fringed at the bottom and
suspended from the ceiling by cords. Another cord attached
to the frame extended through a hole in the wall to a courtyard,
where a native servant kept the punkah in motion by pulling
the cord back and forth. Frequently the coolie would fall asleep
at his task. It did not seem incongruous to local residents or to
members of the electricity department that the offices were
cooled by punkahs. I was told that electric fans were unhealthy
and caused pneumonia and stomach trouble. Almost everyone
wore a "stomacher" or wide woolen band about his middle next
to his skin, even in warmest weather, in order to ward off
stomach ailments supposedly caused by breezes chilling one's
internals.

The picture of Shanghai in 1917 would not be complete with-
out an account of the local fire department, which was a
"volunteer" organization* Firemen, aside from a few native
assistants, were all members of the European community and
served without pay. The equipment had been imported from
England in earlier years, and resembled museum pieces. But the
department made up in picturesqueness for what it lacked in
modernity. I had not been in Shanghai very long before I was
awakened one night by a fire alarm in one of the densely popu-
lated sections near the hotel. I dressed and ran to the fire, along
with the rest of the native and foreign population, and was
astonished to find that most of the firemen were attired in full
evening dress and were running about carrying hoses, with their
black coat-tails flapping in the breeze and their white shirt fronts
and ties besmeared with soot. As the native assistants wore
regulation firemen's uniforms, including brass helmets which
would have been the envy of a Latin American policeman, I was
puzzled by the formal dress of the young Britishers who made

22 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

up most of the fire-fighting crew. I learned that the fire had
occurred on the eve of an English national holiday, when most
of the members of the community were attending a formal
dinner and dance at the Shanghai Club. Since there was no time
to change, all of the members of the department hurried to the
fire in their evening clothes. I was assured that the municipality
assumed responsibility for cleaning, pressing, laundry, and repair
bills which resulted from fighting a fire in formal attire. The
department's slogan carved in enduring stone over the front
door of the central building was, "We Fight the Flames."

The fire department was the butt of numerous jokes in the
foreign community. It was charged that the firemen often
showed partiality when the property happened to be owned by
someone who was not popular in the community. Allegedly
they would take their time in fighting such fires, and usually
there was little left of the property when they got through with
it. In kter years, after the American insurance companies dis-
covered Shanghai, there was agitation for a modern fire depart-
ment which resulted in a hot fight, as the old department was
a social institution with membership strictly confined to
"taipans" (managers) or juniors in the large British firms. How-
ever, progress triumphed, particularly as insurance premiums
were exorbitant largely because of the primitive conditions of
the fire-fighting apparatus.

For protection against internal and external foes Shanghai
depended upon a Volunteer Corps of local militia which was
made up of companies representing the various national groups,
including the Chinese, who resided in the International Settle-
ment, Thus there were companies of American, British, Scottish,
Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese national groups, and other
contingents including the Scandinavians, and other smaller
European groups. The Shanghai Volunteer Corps probably was
the first "kternational" police force. Since the British community
was the largest, its companies, including the Scottish contingent
in native kilts, were the most numerous. The Americans had
three companiesinfantry, mounted, and machine gun and

AN INTERNATIONAL CITY 23

there was a company of Filipinos who served under American
officers. These units, which totaled probably twelve or fifteen
hundred men, were made up chiefly of employees of the large
foreign firms in Shanghai. In later years, after conditions became
disturbed, Shanghai became a "garrison town," and large bodies
of foreign troops were stationed there for protective purposes,
but the fact that the Settlement could be protected by an in-
ternational volunteer regiment of only 1,500 men was indicative
of the generally peaceful conditions which prevailed in the
lower Yangtze Valley region at that time. The Volunteer Corps,
like the fire department, also took the complexion of a social
organization, and the annual dinners of the various units were
gala events.

The United States, Britain, Japan, France, and occasionally
Spain, Italy, and Portugal, kept destroyers stationed in the
Whangpoo, estuary of the Yangtze which served Shanghai as a
harbor, but the sailors were seldom landed and always were
withdrawn to the gunboats after the particular trouble had
subsided.

In the weeks following my arrival I learned of many amusing
beliefs and customs of the European community, which had
lived in comparative isolation for decades. One was that window
screens, along with electric fans, were regarded as "unhealthy."
Shanghai at that time was crisscrossed by numerous canals which
at low tide had the consistency of spinach soup and served as
breeding places for clouds of mosquitoes. Beds had to be en-
closed in mosquito nets suspended from the ceiling. The swarms
of mosquitoes were reduced somewhat by the generous use of
burning punk, made from wood, finely ground, scented, and
pressed into sticks or coils. Another method was for a servant
to walk about, spraying the ankles of the family and guests with
a solution of kerosene. A missionary of an inventive frame of
mind supplied his family and guests with oblong bags of muslin
which were drawn on over the feet and tied securely above the
knees. The use of "mosquito bags" became general and they

24 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

were sold in the local English stores. An American friend who
once spent the night at my home woke up in the morning with
the soles of Ms feet so irritated that he could hardly walk. A
servant explained the mystery: "Master very tall man and feet
stick against net." Later the mosquito menace was considerably
reduced by filling the canals and ponds, and still later the
municipality caused all open drains to be sprayed with an oil
solution, which practically eliminated the insects. However,
there stiH remained the flies, which feasted on the piles of gar-
bage that accumulated in the alleys and back yards.

As these conditions prevailed in the "foreign" sections, the
situation was worse in the surrounding Chinese areas, particu-
larly in the congested areas occupied by the poorer classes.
Typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and other germ diseases were so
prevalent that one wondered what prevented the entire popula-
tion from being swept away by epidemics. The universal Chi-
nese habit of drinking hot tea or boiled water was credited by
the doctors with chief responsibility for preventing the spread
of epidemics. However, among both foreigners and Chinese the
number of deaths from intestinal ailments was startling. A mis-
sionary organization undertook a campaign to teach sanitation,
emphasizing the dangers of the house-fly in the spread of dis-
ease. The promoters of the campaign prepared a set of charts
and illustrations showing the facts of life in the fly family. Large
lithographic posters in colors were put up about the lecture halls
where talks on sanitation were given, and on billboards about
the city showing flies enlarged to huge proportions in the pic-
tures in order to give emphasis, walking about garbage cans and
then strolling with their dirty feet over food intended for human
consumption. One day after the campaign had been in progress
for some time one of the missionary doctors saw a group of
country women talking excitedly while pointing at one of the
illustrated posters. The woman was saying, "No wonder the
Americans are afraid of flies, if they grow so big in their
country; fortunately our flies are small and are not dangerous."

Today Shanghai is one of the few large cities outside the

AN INTERNATIONAL CITY 25

United States which contain American-style skyscraper hotels,
office and apartment buildings, but three decades ago the tallest
buildings in the Settlement did not exceed five or six stories, and
only one or two had elevators or "lifts." All were located on
the Bund. Between these buildings and the river was a parkway
where most of the foreign population took its recreational walks
on summer evenings. The municipal orchestra gave concerts in
the park on Saturday evenings, which were attended by prac-
tically the entire foreign community. At that time no Chinese
was admitted to any municipal park in the foreign area. How-
ever, the foreigner's exclusive enjoyment of his parks was not
entirely without hazard, for in addition to the mosquitoes the
trees were filled with flocks of raucous crows which competed
with the orchestra for attention. The crows were no respecters
of dignity, and I often suspected them of "anti-foreignism," as
they seemed to select for desecration the best-dressed women
and the whitest linen suits of the men. The Municipal Council
finally offered a bounty for the heads of the crows, which
enabled a small army of Chinese boys to earn handsome fees by
trapping them wholesale. The Council, however, had to abolish
the bounty when it was discovered that crows were being
secretly raised by would-be collectors.

One park, known as the Bund Garden, became a serious
political issue in Sino-foreign politics due to a sign erected over
the gateway containing the regulations for the use of the garden.
Among the regulations warning against picking flowers 01
destroying the property were two special items, one of which
stated that dogs could not be taken into the park and another,
further down the list, reading "No Chinese, excepting wort
coolies, are admitted." Later when trouble between the for-
eigners and Chinese developed, student agitators made effective
use of the slogan, "Dogs and Chinese Not Admitted."

Shanghai consisted of three distinct political units: Interna-
tional Settlement, French Concession, and Chinese City. The
International Settlement had three important subdivisions

2 6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Hongkew, Yaogtzepoo, and Western District where most of
the foreigners lived. The French Concession consisted of a nar-
row strip squeezed in between the International Settlement and
the ancient Chinese Gty. When the International Settlement
Administration was created the French refused to participate,
and established their own municipality. The so-called Western
Residential District, which in 1937, following Japanese occupa-
tion, became one of the most notorious gambling and night-club
"hot spots" in the world, was, in 1917, largely open country
containing a few isolated Chinese villages.

The only tax which resident foreigners as well as Chinese in
the Settlement had to pay was a "land tax" based on rental value.
If the property was rented, one paid from 10 per cent to 15 per
cent of the rental value in taxes. Thus if one paid rent amounting
to $100 a month, taxes amounted to $10 a month or $120 a year.
Property which was not improved paid practically no taxes. The
system under which the renters of houses were forced to pay the
bulk of the taxes was imported from England when the Settle-
ment was established, and although later changed in England,
was never changed in Shanghai. The taxation system which
placed the burden of the taxes upon the renter rather than the
property owner also became a serious political issue between
the Chinese and foreigners.

Shanghai streets were paved with a mixture of broken stones
and clay. Chinese street laborers kept the streets in order by
first tamping in the broken stone and then filling the crevices
with a sloppy solution of clay of the consistency of rich cream.
The section would then be fenced off until the mud dried suffi-
ciently for a coolie-propelled roller to smooth the surface. It
made a fairly good pavement until the next rain, when all the
clay would be washed out and the job had to be done over
again. But labor was cheap, and fresh mud was plentiful; besides,
some contractor made a good thing out of it.

The International Settlement possessed no sewage disposal
system or modern plumbing, except in one or two new buildings
located on the Bund. Modern flush toilets were regarded, along

AN INTERNATIONAL CITY 27

with screens and electric fans, as "unhealthy." Bathrooms were
equipped with round earthenware tubs in which one sat upright
to take a bath, and with sanitary devices known as "commodes 5 '
which consisted of a square wooden box with a hole in the top
and an earthenware chamber pot. The house boys collected the
pots in the mornings and derived a considerable income by
selling the contents to the farmers for use as fertilizer. The
International Settlement Administration also collected ordure
and sold it to contractors, who in turn sold it to the farmers and
gardeners of the surrounding countryside. Complaints often
were made that the sale of such fertilizer was detrimental to
public health, but the council refused to listen to the complaints
because it received an annual revenue of about $100,000
(US$5o,ooo) from the sale. The farmers spread this on their
crops with long-handled ladles, the process being called "feed-
ing" the plants. The custom was not restricted to China, but
prevailed also in Japan and in some European countries. The
larger earthenware pots which Chinese farmers used as contain-
ers for the fertilizer probably were responsible for the phrase
"stink-pots of Asia" which appeared in Marco Polo's descrip-
tion of his travels in Cathay more than six centuries ago.

IV
Sun Ya1>sen and Yuan SMh-kai

AT THE TIME OF MY ARRIVAL In Shanghai, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the
founder and leader of the Kuomintang, was residing in the
French Concession, in a modest little house on Rue Moliere
which served the double purpose of a home for himself and
Madame Sun (Ching-Ling Soong), and an office from which he
directed his far-flung political activities.

Today one hears serious criticism of the one-party Kuomin-
tang dictatorship at Chungking, but a study of the early strug-
gles of the Kuomintang shows that this leading Chinese party
is justified in its claim for consideration as one of the world's
great political parties. It originated in a secret society founded
by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the little Portuguese settlement of Macao
near Hong Kong, where he had gone to practice medicine, after
his graduation in 1892 from the newly formed medical school
in Hong Kong. He was soon forced by the Portuguese Govern-
ment to leave Macao, and when he returned home to Canton
he attempted to form a branch of the society there, but the
authorities became suspicious and he was again forced to leave.
Some of his associates were captured and executed, but he him-
self was able to escape to Hong Kong and from there abroad.

Being a courageous and persistent youth, he continued his
activities among Chinese natives outside of China. Chinese resi-
dents abroad contributed to the revolutionary cause consid-
erable sums which Sun Yat-sen used to good effect among dis-
affected elements, even in circles close to the Imperial Court
in Peking. While in London in 1896 he was kidnaped by offi-
cials of the Chinese Legation and confined in a secret room

28

SUN 'VAT-SEN AND YUAN SHIH-KAI 29

by his captors, who planned to send him back to China, where
a reward of $250,000 had been offered for his apprehension.
Sun was able to smuggle out a note to his friend, Dr. James
Cantiie, head of Hong Kong University, who happened to be
in London at the time. Dr. Cantlie, who sympathized with the
earnest young revolutionist, informed the British authorities and
the London newspapers of the high-handed action of the lega-
tion officials, and as a result pressure was brought to obtain his
release. Since it was now impossible for Win to return to China
or even to the British Colony of Hong Kong, he continued his
revolutionary activities against the Manchu Government in
other countries.

While in Japan in 1905 he succeeded in uniting the various
factions of the anti-dynastic movement into a formidable
revolutionary society which he named the Tung Meng Hui
(China Brotherhood Society). By this time his revolutionary
program had gone beyond the mere overthrow of the corrupt
Manchu Government, and was concentrating on definite plans
for a new China. These plans and the principles on which they
were based provided the theoretical foundation for the present-
day Kuomintang Party and the "Constitution of the Five
Powers" which formed the basis of the National Government
organized two decades later at Nanking. In 1905 he was al-
ready working toward the concept of a Chinese nation based on
nationalistic and democratic principles, and the newly organ-
ized society came out boldly for a Chinese republic and an
equitable distribution of land.

Although revolutionary propaganda spread by Dr. Sun and
his followers had exercised great influence, there were other
forces at work which hastened the collapse of the Ching (or
Manchu) Empire. These elements were official corruption and
inefficiency, wretched conditions of the people, internal un-
rest, and foreign pressure. Sensing too late the drift of affairs,
the Manchu Court had hastily attempted to institute reforms,
but the reforms were unpopular and had already precipitated
the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which was originally directed

3D MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

against the throne but which Tsu Hsi, the Empress Dowager,
had cleverly turned against the foreigners.

The revolutionary movement was gathering strength
throughout China, supported by funds which Sun Yat-sen
was busily engaged in raising throughout the world. Numerous
uprisings in various parts 6f the country were promptly put
down by the imperial forces. On March 29, 1910, Dr. Sun
Yat-sen made a further attempt to organize a revolt in Canton,
but again failed. On this occasion there was a major tragedy,
for seventy-two of his followers were caught and executed at
Yellow Flower Hill. The names of these martyrs today have
an exalted place in the annals of the revolution. The leaven was
beginning to work; unrest was growing all over the country.

Leaving an associate, General Huang Hsing, in charge, Dr.
Sun Yat-sen hurried to the United States to raise more funds for
the cause. While he was in San Francisco a delegation of small
Cantonese merchants called on him and offered to close their
businesses and return to China to fight in the revolution. Dr. Sun
asked one how much he earned. The man, operator of a small
laundry, said he had an income of $18 a week. Dr. Sun asked
him if he could live on $12 a week. The man replied in the
affirmative. Dr. Sun then said, "We have plenty of man-power,
but we need money. You remain here and continue your busi-
ness, but contribute $6 a week to the revolution."

Dr. Sun Yat-sen was in Denver, Colorado, in October, 1911,
when he received a cable from General Huang Hsing telling
him that the government troops in Wuchang, important city
on the Yangtze (now part of the Wu-Han, or Wuchang-
Hankow-Hanyang municipality), were ready to revolt. As Dr.
Sun was on the other side of the world, there was considerable
confusion, and several revolutionary leaders were executed. But
this only spurred the rebels to greater effort and as a result the
troops, which had been bought over, rebelled against the Vice-
roy and he was forced to flee to a foreign concession.

The Viceroy tried to induce the foreign consular authorities
to use their Yangtze gunboats to suppress the revolt, but Dr.

SUN YAT-SEN AND YUAN SH1H-KAI 3!

Sun's propaganda abroad had borne fruit. The French and Rus-
sian Consuls supported the republicans at a meeting of the con-
sular body which had been invoked by the Manchu Viceroy.

When Dr. Sun was advised by cable regarding the situation,
he hurried to Washington where he conferred with officials and
then sailed for London where he urged the British authorities
to follow a three-point policy toward China: ( i ) No loans were
to be advanced by British banks to the Manchu Government;
(2) an order against Dr. Sun's residence in Hong Kong, Singa-
pore, Penang, or other British colonies in the Far East was to be
canceled; (3) Britain would cooperate with the United States
in preventing Japan from interfering in the revolution.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen returned to China on January 5, 1912. He
called his faithful followers together at Shanghai and proceeded
to Nanking, where he took the oath of office as provisional
President of the new republic at the request of the National
Convention in Nanking.

Prior to the collapse of the Empiire the Manchu Court had
called to its assistance a promising military politician, named
Yuan Shih-kai, who helped reorganize the army. He had been
dismissed shortly after the deaths of the Emperor Kuang Hsu
and the Empress Dowager in 1908 and the accession of the
infant Hsuan T'ung to the throne, but as the outstanding mili-
tary leader he was frantically recalled when the revolution
broke out. But his heart was not in the imperial cause, for after
a successful show of authority at Hankow, which was retaken
and burned, he began negotiations with the revolutionary forces.
On February 12, 1912, the Manchus abdicated, having been
convinced by Yuan Shih-kai that their cause was hopeless; and
negotiations between Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shih-kai con-
tinued. A few days later Dr. Sun Yat-sen yielded to the superior
military force which Yuan Shih-kai controlled, and resigned the
presidency in favor of Yuan Shih-kai.

A provisional constitution was adopted by the Republican
Government at Nanking in March, 1912, placing the President
under the control of Parliament, which when assembled proved

3 1 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

to be dominated by members of the Knomintang. Dr. Sun Yat-
sen and his followers retired to Shanghai, and Yuan Shih-kai
moved the capital back to the ancient city of the Manchus at
Peking, where the atmosphere was anything but favorable for
a democratic form of government.

In 1913 Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his followers led the opposition
against President Yuan Shih-kai, who was negotiating loans with
English, French, German and Russian bankers and which the
republican group felt would be used to augment Yuan's per-
sonal military power, while placing him under further obliga-
tion to foreign nations. When active rebellion broke out in the
south due to changes in military command which Yuan Shih-
kai had inaugurated to increase his personal power, it was ruth-
lessly put down by the government forces, and Dr. Sun Yat-
sen, who had supported the movement, was forced to flee to
Japan. He took with him, among others, Charles Jones Soong,
a printer of Christian missionary tracts and Chinese revolu-
tionary literature, and Soong's daughter, Chingling, who had
been acting since his return to China as his confidential secre-
tary. While still in Japan in 1915, Dr. Sun Yat-sen divorced his
wife and married Chingling, thus bringing about a union of the
famous Sun-Soong, and later, Kung families.

In November of 1913 Yuan Shih-kai had unseated the
Kuomintang members of the Parliament, and two months later
he dissolved it entirely. Yuan, who had been motivated through-
out by a growing personal ambition, attempted in 1915 to re-
store the monarchy with himself as Emperor. China was not
yet ready for the republicanism of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, but neither
would it countenance a return of an imperial form of govern-
ment. Yuan Shih-kai, who had not yet had himself formally en-
throned, rescinded the imperial referendum, and died of disease
and chagrin on June 6, 1916. The presidency was assumed by
Li Yuan-hung, who had held the office of Vice President since
the beginning of the republican regime, and who had actively
opposed Yuan's attempt to restore the monarchy. Parliament
was recalled, Tuan Chi-jui continuing as Premier, since he was

SUN YAT-SEN AND YUAN SHIH-KAI 33

liked by the military forces which Yuan Shih-kai had built tip
in support of the Government.

After the death of Yuan Shih-kai, Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his
wife had returned to Shanghai, and soon after my arrival I
arranged an interview with him. I was met at the door by a
colorful character named Maurice Cohen who had come to
the Far East by way of New York, Chicago, and Canada and
who served as Dr. Sun's personal bodyguard. Cohen always sat
on a bench in the front hall and carried a large revolver in his
hip pocket, which caused the seat of his trousers to sag gro-
tesquely. His title of "General," which was later conferred on
him by a grateful Canton Government, was the subject of fre-
quent puns in the local English newspapers, but Cohen was a
faithful watchdog and was credited with saving Dr. Sun, on
several occasions, from assassination. He ushered me into an
adjoining room overlooking the garden, where I was introduced
to China's revolutionary leader.

Dr. Sun, then 51 years old, with thinning front hair and
graying mustache, was wearing traditional native costume, a
long gown of light material, which gave him an impressive
appearance as he stood in meditative mood looking out of the
window toward the garden.

After an exchange of greetings, Dr. Sun inquired about my
trip to China. He was interested in my description of Honolulu,
where he had attended school and where he later resided as a
political refugee. The conversation shifted to Japan, when I
told him of my experiences at Nagasaki, and this led to a spirited
discussion of current Japanese activities, as Japan was then in
occupation of the Chinese port of Tsingtao, from which she
had evicted the little German garrison after the outbreak of the
war in Europe. But the Japanese had not stopped with the
occupation of the formerly German-controlled port. Taking
advantage of the preoccupation of Great Britain and America
in the war, the Japanese were busily extending their influence
throughout Manchuria and North China.

34 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Turning to me, Dr. Son exclaimed, in an accusing tone,
"The United States should have put Japan out of Korea"

Noticing the puzzled look on my face, Dr. Sun explained
rather sadly that the United States had a treaty with Korea in
which we had promised to protect the Hermit Kingdom in the
event It was attacked by a foreign country. But we had not
lived up to our commitment when Korea was attacked and later
annexed by Japan. He said, "Had America acted promptly and
energetically, Japan would have been prevented from obtaining
her first foothold on the continent." Korea, which Japan had
originally described as a spear pointed at her heart from the
continent, now served, following her occupation of the penin-
sula, as a convenient bridge to the continent, stated Dr. Sun.
He held President Theodore Roosevelt largely responsible for
America's failure to act in Korea's behalf, and said that Presi-
dent Roosevelt was overanxious to bring about peace between
Russia and Japan, and had sacrificed Korea in order to accom-
plish that objective.

As I knew practically nothing about the circumstances
surrounding the Korean Incident, I did not discuss the question
further, but I later had occasion to speculate upon Dr. Sun's
statement that the United States should have "put Japan out
of Korea." Japan was weak then, and a determined protest
might have changed the course of history.

Later I interviewed Dr* Sun again on the subject of China's
participation In the war in Europe (World War I), to which
he was strongly opposed. President Li Yuan-hung, a friend of
Dr. Sun, also opposed China's participation in the war. Dr. Sun
insisted there was no point in China's declaring war on Ger-
many merely to take sides in a struggle, in which China had no
direct interest. He declared that China's participation in a war
to which the Kuomintang was opposed would precipitate seri-
ous domestic dissension. He made the significant statement:
"The Chinese people may not be able to distinguish between
foreigners of diif erent nationalities and if the simple and honest
people are taught to kill Teutons, they might be led to slaugh-
ter all white foreigners in the country,"

V
of Civil War

THUS WHEN OUR FIRST ISSUE of Millard's Review of the Far
East appeared, on June 9, 1917, affairs in Peking were rapidly
approaching a crisis. There were two fairly well defined politi-
cal groups in the Government, one known as the Military or
"Tuchuns' " Party, and the other the Liberal Party which
was the Kuomintang. The Military Party was largely made tip
of so-called Tuchuns, or military commanders of the various
provinces and districts, chiefly in North China. With few excep-
tions the Tuchuns had previously served as officers in the army
of the late Yuan Shih-kai in the latter days of the Empire and
the early days of the Republic. Generally they were men of
abysmal ignorance and selfishness, whose power was based en-
tirely upon the number of regiments they commanded or
claimed to command. The Liberal Party had a majority in the
Parliament, but, because of military weakness, had never been
able to obtain control of the Government. President Li Yuan-
hung, a Liberal, who had succeeded President Yuan Shih-kai,
lacked actual power for the same reason. This had been the
chief handicap of the Kuomintang leaders from the early days
of the Republic, when Sun Yat-sen yielded his office to Yuan
Shih-kai.

The political struggle in Peking had been triangular in that
it involved the President, Li Yuan-hung; the Premier, General
Tuan Chi-jui, who derived his power from the military or
Tuchuns' group; and Parliament itself. The Review explained in
an editorial on the political situation that there was little in the
contest between the Peking Parliament and the executive

35

36 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IX CHINA

branches of the Government to distinguish it in principle
from similar contests in other countries, as the struggle was
as old as democratic government anywhere. The struggles in-
volved the usual disputes over rights, precedents, powers, and
privileges, questions which have not been settled today, even in
the most advanced democracies. These struggles were more
complicated in China because the Government did not enjoy
complete sovereignty. Furthermore it was functioning under
a temporary constitution, of disputed legality. Frequently the
more progressive Chinese officials in desperation would go to
their foreign friends in Peking for advice, but the advice they
received usually was flavored by the selfish interest of the
adviser and his associates.

The principal issue at stake was that of China's entry into
the World War. Tuan Chi-jui, the Premier, who favored
China's participation in the war, and the Liberal or Kuomin-
tang block in Parliament were at a deadlock. To resolve this
situation President Li Yuan-hung had dismissed Premier Tuan
on May 23, and Tuan immediately went to Tientsin, where he
got in touch with reactionary military leaders and was stirring
up revolt against the Peking Government. The departure of
Tuan from Peking did little to relieve the political struggle
and on June 13, 1917, four days after our first issue appeared,
President Li Yuan-hung dismissed Parliament, on the advice
of General Chang Hsun, to whom he had turned for support
after the dismissal of Tuan Chi-jui.

Early in the spring of 1917 the Military Party had called
a conference in Peking, and since no one trusted his neighbor,
each Tuchun took along with him a sizable bodyguard. Gen-
eral Chang Hsun, who previously had been stationed at a small
town on the Yangtze River opposite Nanking, was one of the
military leaders who attended the conference. One of the stories
told of him was that he once called a dozen military command-
ers to a conference at his headquarters. The conference passed
off smoothly, and was followed by the usual elaborate dinner
given by the host. Suddenly and without warning the lights

SHADOWS OF CIVIL WAR 37

went out all over the compound, and there was deadly silence
in the banquet room. When the lights were suddenly switched
on, much to the embarrassment of those present, each held his
revolver in his hand.

Chang Hsun took a sizable force with him when he went
to the military conference in Peking, and immediately after his
arrival in the capital he distributed his troops in strategic posi-
tions about the city, apparently without consulting his asso-
ciates, and since the uniforms were similar his action attracted
little attention.

The Japanese were still sitting on China's doorstep, hoping
to force the Chinese to accept Group 5 of the Twenty-one
Demands presented in 1915, and the Germans were also active
in protecting their vested interests and concessions, and were
striving strenuously, but quietly, to prevent China from declar-
ing war.

This had been the scene at Peking in the spring of 1917,
when the United States became worried over the prospect of
civil war in China. In order to head off such an eventuality the
State Department decided to send China a note deploring the
danger of civil strife and pointing out that peace among China's
political factions was of extreme importance to the world at
that particular time. It was suggested that the maintenance of
peace in China was even more important than the matter of an
immediate declaration of war on Germany, toward which China
was being pressed by Great Britain and France. America's
friendly advice to the Chinese urging them to maintain domes-
tic peace stirred up a tremendous commotion, particularly
among the Japanese, who argued that it amounted to interfer-
ence in the domestic affairs of the Chinese and should not have
been undertaken without prior consultation with Japan.

The Chinese themselves displayed no indignation at the
receipt of the American note. The United States was just begin-
ning, at that time, to expand commercially into the Far Eastern
markets, and several bankers and engineers had arrived in

3 8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Peking to discuss a railway and canal construction enterprise.
The Japanese did not approve of these schemes either, unless
they were undertaken in partnership with the Japanese.

The Germans, while working strenuously to hold China
out of the war, kept their activities well under cover. The first
evidence of German activities became public unexpectedly in
mid- June, 1917, when the American authorities arrested at
Peking and deported to Manila a well known American
missionary, Dr. Gilbert Reid, on the ground that he was in-
volved in German propaganda. It developed that Reid had spon-
sored a Chinese-language newspaper in Peking which later was
used as an organ of German policy in China. The United States
Government, however, took no action further than to deport
Dr. Reid to Manila, where he was given his freedom. He imme-
diately proceeded to write a book denouncing President Wilson
and the United States Government and questioning the expedi-
ency and wisdom, as well as morality, of trying to force China
into the war against Germany.

Chang Hsun had continued to increase, secretly, the forces
which he had distributed in strategic locations about the city.
Some of the Chinese papers contained reports that Chang Hsun
was spending a great deal of time in the company of members
of the deposed Manchu Dynasty. But aside from the parliamen-
tary issue the chief subject of discussion in the press in the
Far East continued to be the American note advising the Chi-
nese to compose their domestic troubles peacefully because of
the complicated international political situation.

Chang Hsun was now ready for a trial of strength. Early on
July i, the "Boy Emperor," a prisoner of the Republican Govern-
ment, was removed from his residence in the Forbidden City
and placed on the dragon throne in ancient ceremonial man-
ner. The entire coup d'etat had been managed by Chang
Hsun, using the troops he had secretly stationed about the city.
It was not until many months afterward that disclosures were
made indicating that the Germans had had a hand in the
"restoration," their object, of course, being to embarrass the

SHADOWS OF CIVIL WAR 39

Republican Government, which they felt would ultimately
succumb to allied pressure and declare war on them. The Ger-
mans probably had paid the foxy Tuchun a considerable sum,
as he had no regular source of revenue.

Chang Hsun quickly discovered, however, that to restore
the monarchy in China was one thing, but to keep it restored
was another. Rival political elements ridiculed Chang Hsun's
action, but it had a sobering effect upon the various liberal
factions which had been squabbling among themselves over
control of the machinery of government. There was no avail-
able evidence that the Japanese were supporting the monarchial
restoration.

Henry Pu-yi, last Emperor of the Ching or Manchu Dy-
nasty, had ruled in Peking from 1908 to 1912, under the reign
tide of Hsuan T'uang. When Dr. Sun Yat-sen created the
Republic at Nanking in 1911 he made the serious mistake of
agreeing to permit the remnants of the Manchu Dynasty,
including Henry Pu-yi, to remain within their quarters in the
Imperial City as hostages of the Republic. That the arrange-
ment was a serious error was proved in the Chang Hsun
incident.

The restoration aroused widespread attention in foreign
circles, but, much to everyone's surprise, it caused no great
excitement among Chinese political leaders. Most of them
realized that Chang Hsun, even though he had German finan-
cial support, possessed neither the funds nor the intelligence
necessary to put through a restoration program. As a result,
Premier Tuan, with the assistance of troops supplied by the
military faction, moved against Chang Hsun and overthrew
the Boy Emperor, who had actually been on the throne about
two weeks. As for the "king-maker" Chang Hsun, he fled to
the Diplomatic Quarter for protection, first by the Dutch
Minister and later by the German Legation.

Even though the restoration scheme failed, the resulting
situation left Chinese politics in a worse muddle than it was
before the coup. The Review carried the following paragraph:

40 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

The monarchy is gone and a good job too but it requires a
political necromancer to figure out what exists in its place, except
that it is a republic in name. By trying to follow a constitutional and
legal reasoning, we get the following: The only basis for govern-
ment in China is the provisional constitution adopted by Sun Yat-sen
in Nanking in 1912. Under that constitution Li Yuan-hung is Presi-
dent; Feng Kuo-chang is Vice-President, and there is a Parliament,
which recently was dissolved at Peking and a majority of whosfc
members are now in Shanghai or other places outside the recognized
seat of government. Also there is, or was, a Ministry or Cabinet.
The Ministry is nominated by the President and is supposed to be
ratified by the Parliament. There is the framework now what, or
who, are the Government of China?

The Peking Cabinet, in order to curry favor with the Allies,
issued a declaration of war against the Central Powers, on
August 14, 1917. While China's participation in the war did
not take the form of a dispatch of troops, China did perform
a vital service in the military effort by dispatching thousands
of laborers to the western front, where they built roads and
harbor works, repaired railroads, and even dug trenches for
the allied armies. In, addition China supplied many of her vital
raw materials to the war effort in both the United States and
Great Britain.

China also discovered, contrary to Dr. Sun's belief, that
the country did have an issue against Germany and Austria,
and proceeded to cancel the extraterritorial rights of the two
countries and seize their concessions at Tientsin. This action
against Germany and Austria, plus Soviet Russia's later voluntary
relinquishinent of her special treaty position, proved to be qf
extraordinary importance, as it gave China a vantage point in
her struggle against her "unequal" treaty status with respect
to the other Powers, including her allies in the war, ^America
and Great Britain.

Evidence of important events to come was provided by a
short item in the Peking Daily News in mid-July, 1917, stating
that Dr. Sun Yat-sen, "who had been studying the parliamen-
tary deadlock in Peking, had proceeded to the South, in connec-

SHADOWS OF CIVIL WAR 4!

tion with a movement to organize a provisional government
with the cooperation of political elements in Yunnan, Kwangsi
and Kwangtung."

This brief but significant item received further confirma-
tion on July 28, when the Review published an editorial stating
that Dr. Sun had definitely decided to proceed to Canton with
the object of establishing a new Republic of China with him-
self as President. The editorial stated that liberal leaders, includ-
ing members of the former Peking Parliament, had already
begun to assemble at Canton for the purpose. Dr. Sun was
accompanied by two associates, who had become known as
wheelhorses of the party. They were Wu Ting-fang and Tong
Shao-yi, who were members of the first class of Chinese stu-
dents sent to this country. Wu became well known as Chinese
Minister to the United States. Tong had served as diplomatic
representative of the old Peking Government to Korea*

The Chinese navy, which was largely controlled by officials
from the southern coastal province of Fukien, sided with Dr.
Sun, and also withdrew to Canton. The upshot of the extended
conference at Canton, which was participated in by the officers
of the fleet, was the formation of a "constitutional government/'
of which Dr. Sun was elected "generalissimo." A call was issued
for a meeting of parliamentarians who had been ousted from
Peking and who were sympathetic toward Dr. Sun's cause.

Members of the Parliament who belonged to the Kuomin-
tang Party had difficulty in getting out of Peking, as the Govern-
ment attempted to hold them. Dr. C. T. Wang (later Ambas-
sador to the United States) who was president of the Senate in
the Peking Parliament, had to slip out of the capital dressed
as a student, and upon his arrival at Shanghai was compelled
to reside with an American missionary friend, to escape
assassination.

The establishment of a republican government at Canton
by Dr. Sun Yat-sen amounted to an ultimatum to the northern
military faction which controlled the Peking "Republican"
Government. Since the Peking regime had the advantage of

42 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

diplomatic recognition by the Powers, the political situation in
CMna became so complicated as to defy description. It marked
the beginning of a civil war situation resulting in bids for power
by one war lord after another, extending over a decade. Seldom
had the people been subjected to such oppression and exploita-
tion as occurred in this period, which came to be known as the
"Era of the War Lords."

VI
The Lansing-Ishii "Incident"

I WAS IN PEKING, on my first trip to the northern Chinese
capital, when the Japanese made another attempt to force China
to accept "Group V" of the Twenty-one Demands. The Ameri-
can Minister at Peking was Dr. Paul S. Reinsch, formerly
professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin.
Although of German extraction, Dr. Reinsch was a patriotic
American and a more loyal citizen than many of his detractors
in the American colony in Peking, who had been constantly
alluding to his German background and disparaging his attempts
to prevent China from succumbing to Japanese and German
pressure.

Late one night there was a knock on my door at the old
Wagons-Lits Hotel, where I was staying, and on opening the
door I recognized a Chinese young man who had been a stu-
dent in one of my classes when I was an instructor at the
University of Missouri. It was Hollington K. Tong, who
following his return to China had been appointed editor of the
Peking Daily JVewy, a small English-language paper in the
capital. I noticed that he was agitated, and asked him to come
in and tell me what was the matter. He began by reviewing
Japanese activities in China from the beginning of the war in
1914, when Japan seized the port of Tsingtao from the Ger-
mans, afterward extending her control throughout Shantung
Province. The following year, Tong explained, Japan had pre-
sented the notorious Twenty-one Demands to President Yuan
Shih-kai. The presentation of the Demands was accompanied
by an ultimatum that unless they were accepted Japan would
send an expeditionary force to conquer the entire country. The

43

44 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Japanese Minister, Count Kato, explained to President Yuan
Shih-kai that since the Demands concerned Japan and China
exclusively, the matter should be kept secret and under no
conditions should any foreign country, particularly the United
States and Great Britain, be informed. Pounding on the table
with his walking stick, Count Kato threatened the Chinese
President with imprisonment by the Japanese army in case the
matter was permitted to leak out and Japan was "forced to

intervene."

Despite the threats the facts did leak out, and as a result the
American and British Governments lodged energetic protests
with the Japanese Government. Despite repeated denials the
Japanese were forced to withdraw "Group V," the most drastic
of the Demands, which were designed to establish Japanese
hegemony over North China and Manchuria. It was to be done
under the guise of "preparing China for participation in the
World War."

Tong, or "Holly" as everyone knew him, said that while
Japan seemingly had receded from the position she had taken
when the Demands were presented in 1915 and again in 1916,
the Chinese knew that Japan was only biding her time and
that when the situation was propitious Japan would make an-
other attempt to force the Chinese to agree to Group V. Japan
now considered the time ripe for action, as she wanted to have
China securely "nailed down" before the United States became
strong enough to interfere in China's behalf.

Tong became more and more excited as his account of Japa-
nese aggression progressed to that very day, when Count Kato
had visited China's Foreign Minister, Dr. Lou Tseng-hsiang, in
the late afternoon and told him that unless Group V of the
Demands was accepted immediately, Japan would take mili-
tary action. There had been more table-pounding by the Japa-
nese Minister, who warned the Chinese Foreign Minister to
keep the matter quiet or else

As soon as Count Kato had left the Foreign Office a secre-
tary telephoned Mr. Tong, who was still in his editorial office,

THE LANSING-ISHII INCIDENT 45

and told him what had happened. The secretary urged Tong to
notify the correspondents of the American and British papers,
in order that the report could be cabled abroad. I typed out
a note of what had happened, and made an appointment for
Tong to meet me at the American Legation early the next morn-
ing. After we had explained the situation to Dr. Paul S. Reinsch,
the American Minister, he agreed with us that China's best de-
fense was publicity, otherwise the Japanese would repeat their
previous action and deny that any ultimatum had been pre-
sented. Dr. Reinsch recalled his own experience in 1915, when
he had been reprimanded by the Secretary of State for sending
the original report of the presentation of the Twenty-one
Demands which the Japanese Ambassador in Washington
had denied, on the authority of the Tokyo Foreign Office. Dr.
Reinsch told us that the correspondent for the Associated Press
in Peking had also been reprimanded by his home office for
sending "unfounded reports." As a result the A.P. correspond-
ent cabled his resignation, and only then did the A.P. office in
New York issue the story to the American press.

Immediately following my interview with the American
Minister, I wired the story to my paper in Shanghai, with
instructions that a copy be turned over to Carl Crow, who
was the representative in Shanghai of "Compub," otherwise
the American Committee on Public Information, which had
just been established. Crow cabled the report to Washington,
and within a short time all correspondents in Shanghai and
Peking received instructions to investigate the report of the
Japanese ultimatum. This time, unlike the situation in 1915, the
official report to the State Department regarding the Japanese
ultimatum had the support of dispatches from a half dozen
correspondents at Peking and Shanghai. I also received from
a Chicago paper a cable requesting a story concerning the inci-
dent, and was able to wire a more complete report than most
of the correspondents, due to the information I had received
from Mr. Tong. The following day the story developed
new angles when the Japanese actually conducted military

46 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

demonstrations at Tientsin, Mukden, and Tsinanfu, the last-
named city being capital of Shantung Province, where the
Japanese had established themselves in 1914 at the beginning
of World War I by defeating the small German garrison sta-
tioned at the port of Tsingtao.

When the correspondents called in a body on Count Kato
that afternoon the Japanese Minister denied the whole story,
and charged the Chinese with creating it from whole cloth.

The incident resulted in a tragic ending of the diplomatic
career of the elderly Chinese Foreign Minister, Dr. Lou Tseng-
hskng, who was charged with weakness _and indecision and
forced out of office. As a result of the unmerited criticism the
venerable Foreign Minister resigned and a few months later
went to Belgium, and entered a Catholic monastery where he
remained for many years.

Dr. Reinsch, the American Minister, was indirectly re-
sponsible for the creation of the Chinese Student Movement
which became an important adjunct of the Nationalist Revo-
lution. The movement started when students in the Peking
National University began collecting money on the streets of
the capital to finance telegrams to the Chinese Minister and
delegates in Paris, urging them to protest to the "Big Four"
against Japanese aggression. Soon the students, both boys and
girls, in all the Peping schools were parading with banners,
and the movement spread throughout the country, resulting in
demonstrations against the Japanese everywhere.

No small part of his success in explaining America's objec-
tives in the war to the Chinese people was due to his reputation
as an outstanding political scientist. This enabled him to appeal
with authority to the young generation of Chinese intellec-
tuals, the returned students and graduates of mission schools
who were beginning to feel the stirrings of nationalism. Through
them he was able to influence public opinion as well as govern-
mental policy on the subject of the war. It was largely due to
his efforts that China joined in the war on the side of the Allies,

THE LANSIXG-ISHII "INCIDENT" 47

despite the strong German pressure and propaganda, and It also
was largely due to Dr. Reinsch's efforts that China was encour-
aged to withstand Japanese pressure, which was even heavier
than German pressure. It was felt that if China had succumbed
to Japanese pressure and accepted Japanese military and politi-
cal control, Japan might have felt strong enough to defy the
United States and desert the Allies for the German side.

But the promises of diplomatic support which Dr. Reiesch
made to the Chinese, with the knowledge and approval of the
State Department and the President, were never carried out and
eventually led to disastrous consequences in the relations of the
two countries as well as tragedy in the life of the American
Emissary. Dr. Reinsch's job was made doubly difficult, if not
impossible, by the failure of the Administration to support poli-
cies which were announced during the course of the war,
particularly President Wilson's fourteen points, which the
Chinese thought were designed especially to assist them in
regaining their independence from international domination.

Dr. Reinsch's first serious rebuff came in November, 1917,
when the news services carried a report from Washington
stating that Secretary of State Robert Lansing had signed an
agreement with Baron Ishii, special Japanese Ambassador, in
which the United States had agreed to Japan's "special position"
in both Manchuria and Shantung. The report created the opin-
ion that the United States had given up its traditional policy of
the Open Door and had decided to abandon China to the ten-
der mercies of the Japanese military clique. Dr. Reinsch had not
been advised that such an agreement with Japan was even under
discussion, hence he was unable to supply any information when
the Chinese demanded the meaning and purpose of the
"Lansing-Ishii pact." The Japanese Minister thus had a free
hand, and he proceeded to fill the Chinese papers with the
Japanese version of the agreement. Translations of the Japa-
nese reports supplied to the Chinese papers conveyed the
impression that America had jettisoned its traditional policy of

48 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

preserving China's territorial and administrative integrity and
had consented to Japan's policy of grab.

The story behind the signing of the Lansing-Ishii agreement,
as later disclosed in Robert Lansing's book, following his
resignation as Secretary of State, was startling in its revelations
concerning the methods and motives of diplomacy as practiced
by the Allied nations during the war, but particularly before
America's entrance into the straggle.

In the first place Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, and Italy
had signed secret agreements with Japan whereby they con-
sented to Japan's permanent control of China's Shantung
Province and the former German islands of the Pacific, which
Japan had seized at the beginning of the war. These arrange-
ments, which obviously had been signed in order to prevent
Japan from deserting the Allied side, were kept secret from
President Wilson, as the Allied diplomats realized that a knowl-
edge of the secret treaties would have an adverse effect on
American public opinion and conceivably might prevent the
United States from entering the war. Lord Grey, chief British
diplomatic emissary, stated later that he had informed Presi-
dent Wilson of the existence of the agreements, but if he did,
President Wilson had not realized the actual import of the
understandings. But even though the Japanese had "held up"
the European Allies on the question of Japan's permanent
possession of Shantung and the Pacific islands, the Japanese
leaders nevertheless felt uneasy regarding possible American
reactions when the agreements became public, as they certainly
must, at the peace conference following the war.

According to Secretary Lansing's disclosures, he was aston-
ished when a Japanese "ambassador of good will" named Baron
Ishii arrived in Washington in November, 1917, with a propo-
sal that America should recognize Japan's "special position" in
China and the Western Pacific. Lansing said that he spurned the
proposal as contrary to long-established American policy. But
Baron Ishii had another string to his diplomatic bow. He went
straight to New York and got in touch with a certain power-

THE LANSING-ISHII INCIDENT 49

ful financial leader who exercised potent influence with the
Administration due to his financing of the war effort. Ishii
succeeded in convincing this representative of American finance
that it was necessary for the United States to recognize Japan's
position, otherwise dire things might happen in the Orient, The
clever Japanese diplomat then gravely shook his head, leaving
the rest unsaid. Had Baron Ishii been in Peking he probably
would have pounded on the table.

That night President Wilson received a confidential tele-
phone call from New York over the private White House wire,
and the next day Secretary Lansing received instructions from
the President to sign the agreement with Ishii. Lansing claimed
that he did so against his convictions, and sought to weaken
the force of the agreement by inserting a qualifying phrase in
the text to the effect that the agreement applied only where
Chinese and Japanese territories were "propinquitous" a new
term in the already ambiguous language of diplomacy.

Secretary Lansing argued that the insertion of the word
actually restricted the application of the agreement to South
Manchuria, which bordered on the Japanese territory of Korea.
However, the Secretary of State also was not aware of the
secret agreements which Japan had already signed with the
European Allies, copies of which Baron Ishii probably had in
his pocket when he signed the pact with Lansing. Taken to-
gether, it meant that America had been tricked into signing
an agreement diametrically opposed to American traditional
policy in the Far East.

The secret treaties were disclosed by the Soviet authorities
following theis overthrow of the Czarist regime in 1917, and
cast a blight over the heretofore friendly relations of the United
States and China and also exercised potent influence in causing
the United States Senate to refuse to ratify the Versailles Treaty
and the League of Nations Covenant.

As a result of the rebuff to his policies and the developing
complications in the relations of America and China, Dr.
Reinsch resigned in 1919 and accepted a position as an adviser

1187103

50 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of the Chinese Government, in which capacity he attempted
to rectify the damage by encouraging American businessmen
and bankers to invest in China. However, the strain resulting
from his disappointment was too great and while on a visit to
General Wu Pei-fu, the Northern Chinese leader in Honan
Province, he suffered a heat stroke. Dr. Reinsch was brought
to Shanghai and died in a hospital there in January, 1924, with-
out recovering his mental equilibrium.

The last chapter of the Lansing-Ishii incident, however, was
written by the United States Senate following the Washington
Arms Conference, when that august body voted unanimously
to abrogate the agreement. The members of the Senate felt
particularly exasperated over the Ishii incident as they had
invited the Japanese "ambassador of good will" to address them
on the subject of democracy in Japan when he was in Wash-
ington negotiating the agreement with the Secretary of State.

VII
Russians In Shanghai

IN THE FALL OF 1917 I had decided that It was time for my
wife and young daughter to join me, so I cabled Mrs. Powell
to come out and bring along my sister Margaret, who was a
student in the School of Journalism at the University of Mis-
souri. In the meantime I stayed on at the Astor House in Shang-
hai, in the "steerage" section, which consisted of single rooms
and small suites at the back of the hotel. The section resembled
an American club, because practically all of the rooms and
suites were occupied by young Americans who had come out
to join the consulate, commercial attache's office, or business
firms whose activities were undergoing rapid expansion.

Sanitary arrangements left much to be desired. There was
no modern plumbing. The bathtub consisted of a large earthen-
ware pot about four feet high and four feet in diameter. It was
called a "soochow tub," due to its place of manufacture in a
native pottery in the town of Soochow, about fifty miles from
Shanghai. The Chinese servant assigned to me would carry in
a seemingly endless number of buckets of hot water to fill the
tub in the morning.

One of the consular clerks who lived in that section of the
hotel cautioned me about keeping my room locked. He said,
"Be sure to lock your door and leave the key with the boy,
otherwise you are likely to have a visitor." Some days later I
realized what he meant when I returned to my room late in
the evening and found a young lady, wearing a Japanese
kimono, asleep in my bed. I immediately called the boy and
asked him what he meant by permitting her to enter my room.
By this time the girl was awake and asked me, in pidgin Eng-

5*

52 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

lisfa, if I was "Mr. Smith" who had sent for her. I assured
her that I was not Mr. Smith, and the boy ushered her down
the corridor. I spoke to Captain Morton, the manager, the next
morning and he assured me that it would not happen again.
The incident aroused considerable amusement among my
friends, who called me "Mr. Smith" for several days thereafter.

My family arrived in mid- winter of 1917-18. I discovered
too late that the influx of Americans had made it practically
impossible to find a residence or an apartment except in some
old English-style houses without modem conveniences. A
friend told us of a new residential district known as the "Model
Village," which some promoter had built to meet the influx of
Americans. The village consisted of several rows of residences
constructed of cheap mud bricks in a style the promoter thought
was "American."

Although they were quite new, we had to exercise consider-
able care because the buildings were so flimsily constructed that
we were frequently having embarrassing experiences. Once my
wife was using the telephone, a heavy, cumbersome instrument
attached to the wall which separated our house from the adjoin-
ing one. Suddenly there was a crash and the telephone, together
with a large section of the partition, fell to the floor. Our
neighboring housewife had also been using her telephone, which
was attached to the other side of the wall, at the same time. The
two ladies greeted each other through the opening. It was not
unusual for thej flimsy boards in the floor to give way while
we were sitting at the dining-room table.

Life under these conditions, while trying, was not altogether
unpleasant because the compound was filled with young Ameri-
can couples who were also pioneering. Housewives who had
always done their own work and looked after their own chil-
dren at home suddenly found themselves surrounded by ser-
vants. In our home we had two female servants or amahs, a
cook, houseboy, and coolie. They all lived somewhere in the
rear, which we never visited. Once, during a political crisis,
my houseboy brought sixty-five of his relatives from the

RUSSIANS IN SHANGHAI 53

countryside to live in my garage until the storm blew over.
I was informed that each paid him a small fee for the service.
The Chinese, accustomed to adjusting themselves to meeting
crises of this kind, were always practical. Once, when the
situation in the Settlement was disturbed, many of the Chinese
sent their wives and families to the country to live with their
relatives. I asked my office boy (he was forty years old) if he
had sent his wife to the country. He replied in characteristic
English, "No send missie to country if send missie to country,
must pay money, but no can use."

Food was plentiful, and most of the housewives were accus-
tomed to visiting the Hongkew Market conducted by the
municipality. Many housewives experimented with native
vegetables, and discovered that they were superior to familiar
American items. The market was quite sanitary and provided
every possible item of foreign and domestic food. I was told
that the market greatly resembled the Fulton Market in New
York City, except for the difference in food items. A visit to
the market was almost a social event, because women would
meet their friends there and compare notes as they visited the
various stalls. The food was unbelievably cheap and generally
of good quality. However, all green vegetables and fruits had
to be dipped in a chemical solution to kill germs.

The American population, which had numbered only a few
hundred when I arrived, grew rapidly as a result of the opening
up of numerous business establishments. This led to the develop-
ment of community activities in which I participated. During
that first winter there were organized two American clubs, one
a downtown businessmen's club and the other a country club
on the outskirts of the city. The American School was organ-
ized, the most ambitious project of all, and was located in the
French Concession. The school quickly became popular in the
international community and was almost overwhelmed by
applications from parents of other nationalities who wished to
provide their children with an American education. A certain
percentage of such children were admitted. American children

54 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

had the opportunity of associating with children of other
nationalities, including a considerable number of Chinese, and
a few of mixed blood. Other nationalities were proud of the
opportunity they had in sending their children to the Ameri-
can School, where they could receive American instruction
and associate with American children.

The Americans also organized a Community Church, which
was conducted on non-sectarian lines and soon became as popu-
lar in the community as the school. The pastors were carefully
selected in the United States, and usually spent three years in
Shanghai. Membership in the church also was not restricted to
Americans.

The church had been in operation only a short time when
a Japanese and his wife appeared on the scene and requested
membership on the ground that they were Christians. The
Japanese said that he had resided in the United States and
could speak English. They seemed to be quite sincere, and it
was not long before the man and his wife, who was of Japa-
nese blood but born in America, were taking active part in the
affairs of the church. The members were enthusiastic about
Mr. Watanabe, who entered into the activities of the church
with such enthusiasm. All proceeded happily until there was a
Sino- Japanese crisis. A group of Americans visited the Japa-
nese consulate, and were astonished to see Mr. Watanabe wear-
ing a military uniform. Investigation disclosed that he was an
intelligence officer in the army, and apparently had been as-
signed to the job of checking up on the religious and social
activities of the American community. The next Sunday the
familiar faces of the Japanese espionage officer and his wife
were missing. They never attended church again. The inci-
dent attracted wide attention when it became known that
Japanese army intelligence had used this method elsewhere in
checking up on American missionary activities.

When I first arrived in Shanghai I was surprised to find that
the Germans still went about the city in complete freedom and

RUSSIANS IN SHANGHAI 55

safety, despite the fact that they were involved in war with both
the British and French, who occupied a dominating position in
the city.

Two of the city's three leading clubs, the British Shanghai
Club and the German Club, were located on the Bund, only
about three blocks apart. The French Club, most popular in the
international community, was located in the French Conces-
sion, several blocks distant. It was interesting, at noontime, to
see the British and German businessmen passing each other on
the Bund without a nod of recognition, each headed for his
club for luncheon, where the chief subject of discussion was
the war. Each club had a large mounted map of the western
front, but the thumb tacks were on opposite sides of the line.

The situation changed, however, after China broke off rela-
tions with Germany in March, 1917. China's declaration of war
on Germany automatically canceled the extraterritorial privileges
which the Germans had enjoyed, and thus made them subject
to Chinese law. The French immediately started an agitation
for the deportation of the Germans from the International
Settlement, and ultimately were able to exert sufficient pressure
on the Chinese to cause Peking to adopt a deportation order
applicable to all Germans and Austrians.

Things usually move slowly in China, however, and the
matter of deporting the Germans was no exception to the gen-
eral rule. Many Germans took advantage of the delay to move
their possessions into Chinese territory, where they resided in
boarding houses and received protection from local Chinese
officials who paid no attention to the Peking Government's
orders. As a matter of fact, public sentiment in Shanghai,
particularly among the Chinese, deeply opposed the deporta-
tion of the Germans, so they were not deported until a consider-
able time after the Armistice. The Germans were greatly em-
bittered by being driven out after the war was over, and their
feelings were voiced in their publications in Shanghai as well
as in the home press in Germany. Several books, including a
novel, were widely circulated in Germany which were based

56 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

on the alleged inhumanities involved in the Shanghai deporta-
tion. German bitterness over this incident undoubtedly was re-
flected in the later action of the Nazis in Shanghai as allies of
the Japanese,

The Chinese Government, although it had been reluctant
to declare war on Germany, soon discovered that the abolition
of German extraterritorial rights enabled the Chinese to confis-
cate German possessions which included several banks, business
houses, and community properties which long had served as
social centers for the Germans. The German Club on the Bund
was taken over by the Chinese Government and handed over
to the Bank of China, while the German bank, also located on
the Bund, was handed over to the Chinese Bank of Communica-
tions. Another large property which the Germans had pur-
chased for the construction of a country club, located in the
French Concession, was seized by the French and ultimately
taken over by the French Club. The leading German drug-
store, located on Nanking Road, was converted into an Ameri-
can company through the medium of a Delaware corporation,
and from that time on flew the American flag, although the
German personnel was not changed, and all of the German
drug lines were retained. A clever American lawyer was
responsible for the transformation.

But the most colorful phase of the international situation in
Shanghai had to do not with the Germans, but with one of our
former allies. One day during the winter of 1918-19 there was
a report of a number of mysterious ships arriving at the mouth
of the Yangtze River, several miles below Shanghai. As soon
as I heard the report I hired a Chinese launch and made a trip
to the mouth of the Yangtze. It was indeed a mysterious fleet.
There must have been between thirty and forty ships of every
possible description, most of them painted a dirty black. The
"fleet" ranged all the way from small warcraft to harbor tugs,
and there were even two large and powerful ice-breakers.

I directed the captain of my launch to approach one of the

RUSSIANS IN SHANGHAI 57

larger warships. I finally attracted the attention of an officer,
who came to the rail and spoke to me in Russian, which I could
not understand. I indicated, however, that I wanted to come
aboard. We finally came alongside, and with the assistance of
sailors on the ship I managed to get on the gangplank and
climbed the ladder to the deck. Incidentally, the Yangtze River
at that point was quite wide and very rough.

When I reached the deck of the ship I was faced with a
spectacle even stranger than the "fleet" itself. The deck of the
ship was literally jammed with household equipment, ranging
all the way from pots and pans to baby cribs. I noticed, not
without amusement, that one Russian mother had hung out her
babies' wash on one of the five-inch guns. I also noticed one
almost new American automobile, a relic of the ill-fated Ameri-
can Siberian expedition.

After considerable delay the Russian commander of the
boat found someone who could speak a little English. I was in-
formed that the "fleet" was under the command of Admiral
Stark, who had commanded Russian naval forces in the Far
East during the war. The commander of the ship interrupted
my questioning to tell me that they were greatly in need of
food, as the supplies they had brought from Vladivostok were
exhausted. He said they had evacuated Vladivostok on the eve
of the Bolshevik occupation of that port. I asked him about
the large number of women and children on board. He said
many of them were the families of Russian navy men. In addi-
tion there were large numbers of other Russians, including
women and children of civilians, who had gone aboard to
escape the wrath of the Bolsheviks. The admiral wanted to
land a large number of the civilians, but the Shanghai authori-
ties had objected. Later most of them managed to leave the
ships at night and come to Shanghai.

After remaining in the Yangtze River for several days, ob-
taining much-needed supplies which were donated by Shanghai
charitable organizations, Admiral Stark sailed southward with
his "fleet," finally ending up in Manila where most of the Rus-

58 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

sian evacuees became residents and where the "fleet" was broken
op and the ships sold. The Soviet Government later tried to
recover possession of these ships, but Admiral Stark had sold
them, and since the United States did not recognize Soviet
Russia, Moscow never succeeded in regaining possession. The
Bolsheviks were particularly anxious to recover the two ice-
breakers which were a vital necessity in Vladivostok Harbor
in the late fall and winter months, as the harbor freezes over
and it is necessary to use ice-breakers to keep it open for cargo
and fishing fleets.

The Russian emigrees who reached Shanghai by means of
Admiral Stark's "fleet" were the vanguard of an influx of Rus-
sians from Siberia and other parts of Russia as far west as
Moscow and Leningrad, which continued for several years. As
Shanghai was an open city where passport visas were not re-
quired, there was no way of restricting the flood of Russians
who came in by every train and ship from the north, most of
them in a destitute condition. The refugees included groups
from every possible class in Russia, ranging all the way from
indigent gypsy beggars to members of the nobility. Some of the
wealthier Russians managed to bring out with them consider-
able property in the form of jewelry. These people put up at
the best hotels and lived in luxury as long as the jewelry lasted.
Shanghai pawnshops were filled with these baubles, enabling
collectors to pick up many rare pieces for a fraction of their
original value. Some of these pieces of jewelry were of native
manufacture, containing rare precious and semi-precious stones
from the famous mines in the Urals.

The number of Russian emigrees who arrived in Shanghai
was never known accurately, but was estimated at from 25,000
to 50,000. Since the great majority were destitute, it was neces-
sary for Shanghai to open soup kitchens in several parts of the
city, the funds being provided by local charitable organiza-
tions.

Among the refugees were a large number of soldiers, mainly
Cossacks who had served in the armies of the Czar and remained

RUSSIANS IN SHANGHAI 59

loyal to Mm. They had escaped chiefly through Mongolia into
Manchuria, and were accompanied by their families. A majority
of the refugees came from small towns and villages all over
Russia, but occasionally one met refugees in destitute condition
who had previously been large landowners and prosperous
businessmen in European Russia. Rich or poor, illiterate or edu-
cated, they had one thing in common, namely, hatred of the
Bolsheviks who had dispossessed them and forced them to flee
from their native land and to depend on foreigners. Prior to
the influx of Russian emigrees, Shanghai had only had a half
dozen Russian families, chiefly rich managers of tea companies
or persons who had been connected with the large Russo-
Asiatic Bank, the main branch of which in the Far East was
located in Shanghai, with a palatial building on the Shanghai
Bund.

Much to the surprise of everyone the Russian emigrees did
not long constitute a problem from the standpoint of support.
They quickly gained a foothold in the city. The former Cos-
sack soldiers became bodyguards for rich Chinese merchants,
who were in constant fear of blackmail or assassination, or they
obtained jobs as night watchmen at banks and business houses
throughout the city. Finally the International Settlement organ-
ized a so-called Russian Volunteer Corps as a part of the Inter-
national Volunteer Corps which protected the city.

Hundreds of Russian women were assisted in opening
fashionable dress shops, millinery shops, and beauty parlors. In
addition other Russians, many of whom were Jews, opened a
host of notion shops, selling everything from needles to baby
carriages. Of course there were the ubiquitous Russian restau-
rants, one or two in almost every block, particularly in the
French Concession where the majority of the Russians resided.
Shanghai thus received its first introduction to Russian food,
which immediately became popular in the foreign and Chinese
communities. The Russians filled an important niche in the city,
occupying a position between the normal white-collared
Occidental population and the Chinese who did all the work.

60 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LV CHINA

Since Shanghai had always been a man's city in which a
majority of the normal foreign population were bachelors,
numerous friendships Inevitably developed, culminating in large
numbers of international marriages. These Included many
members of the United States Marine Corps stationed in Shang-
hai. Once I asked the chaplain of the Marine Corps whether
these marriages were successful He replied in rather cynical
vein, I thought "As successful as any other kind." It became
popular to speak Russian, and It was a poor bank clerk Indeed
who could not afford an attractive Russian teacher. The Russians
even came to exercise considerable political Influence In the
affairs of the city. When I arrived in Shanghai there was not a
single Russian church in the city. Ten years later, after the
White Russian influx, there were more than a dozen Russian
Orthodox churches, some of them large and richly decorated.
The support of so many churches attested to the deeply religious
nature of the White Russians. I do not think I ever visited a
Russian home without seeing at least one sacred ikon, and often
there would be one in every room and usually with a small
incense burner and oil lamp attached which was kept burn-
Ing. Almost the entire foreign community turned out to ob-
serve the colorful Russian services at Christmas and Easter.

VIII
Editor As Lobbyist

SINCE THE Review was now on its feet, I decided in the au-
tumn of 1920 to make a trip to the United States in order to
establish advertising contacts for the paper.

A few days prior to my sailing, J. Harold Dollar, Far East-
ern representative of the Dollar Steamship interests, who was
chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, invited me
to a farewell luncheon at the American Club. I was surprised
at the turnout of prominent residents, and -wondered what
was up.

At the close of the luncheon Carl Seitz, a well known
lumber merchant, got up and after the usual pleasantries, turned
to me and said: "J. B., we want you to go to Washington and
put through a China Trade Act, providing Federal incorpora-
tion for American concerns doing business in the Far East."

He then explained that the Chamber of Commerce would
defray my hotel expenses if I would go to Washington and
see what could be done about inducing Congress to pass our
incorporation act. He was sure it would require "only a few
weeks" to convince Congress of the necessity of this greatly
desired measure.

I agreed to undertake the mission. I had never been in
Washington, and was anxious to see what made the wheels go
'round in our national capital.

In traveling from the West Coast to New York I stopped
over in Chicago and paid a visit to the famous Colonel Robert
R. McCormick. I had covered two or three special assign-
ments for the Chicago Tribune, and the Colonel asked me to
stop over and see him. While I was talking with him I men-

61

6 2 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

tioned the matter of the incorporation bill which our commer-
cial Interests in the Far East desired to get through Congress,
and told him that the Chamber of Commerce had commis-
sioned me to make a trip to Washington and see what could
be done about the matter. This gave the Colonel an idea. He
said: "You catch the midnight train, and that will put you in
Marion, Ohio, at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. I will telegraph
Phil Kinsley, our political correspondent, to meet you and
introduce you to President-elect Harding."

This surpassed my fondest expectations an opportunity to
meet the President-elect of the United States and solicit his sup-
port for our incorporation bill.

I was at the famous little frame house with the front porch
in Marion by 6:30 the next morning, and a few minutes later
had found Phil Kinsley and explained my business. Kinsley
said, "Let's go over and catch Harding before the nut brigade

starts in."

I asked him what he meant by the nut brigade and he said,
the visionaries with schemes for post-war Europe and world
peace. He took me to the reception room, which was empty at
that early hour, so I sat there and examined the scenery from
the not-too-clean windows leading out on the famous front
porch. As I sat there a rather portly individual arrived. His face
appeared familiar, but I couldn't place him. Shortly afterward
the attendant came out and calling my name, said Mr. Harding
was waiting, but before I could get to the door, the portly
gentleman who had come in later pushed me aside, stating he
wanted to go in first because he had to catch a train back to
New York. He also explained to me that he had a very im-
portant matter concerning world peace which he wished to
discuss with the President-elect. Without further comment he
pushed past me and went in. I waited fully an hour before he
came out. Mr. Harding said, as he smilingly handed me a ciga-
rette, "That was Nicholas Murray Butler."

He looked at my card and said, "I see you come from
China."

EDITOR AS LOBBYIST 63

I told him I had just arrived, and explained to him as briefly
as I could the purpose of my visit to Marion. He listened with
.unexpected interest and told me he had always been curious
about China because he had an aunt who had been a missionary in
that country. I found out afterward his aunt had been a mis-
sionary in India, but I had become accustomed to having Ameri-
cans confuse India with China, and even with Africa, when it
came to the matter of missionaries.

I gave Mr. Harding a small booklet I had written about our
proposed Federal incorporation act, and told him about the
growing importance of American commerce in the Far East,
how the new law would facilitate the development of American
trade and would in time restore American business prestige
which had been damaged, due to exploitation by adventurers
and fly-by-night promoters. He said: "I can't do anything for
you until I get to Washington, but if you will come to see me
at the White House, I will do everything I can to help you get
your bill through Congress."

As President, Mr. Harding lived up to that promise, and we
became well acquainted in the months to come. I soon dis-
covered, however, that the matter of getting a bill through Con-
gress, unless it concerned some large national interest, cannot
be accomplished in a few weeks it usually requires months,
and often years, and is a heart-breaking process. But whenever
I got into a jam, I could always obtain help by writing a letter to
President Harding about it.

Since I had had no experience whatever as a lobbyist, I con-
sulted some of my newspaper friends about what to do to get
a bill through Congress. This usually drew a laugh, particularly
at the Press Club. Some of the veterans explained to me that
Washington was crowded with people who had come to the
Capitol "to get a bill through Congress" in the expectation that
it would take a few weeks. They had stayed on and on, and
in many cases the lobbying job became their sole source of sup-
port. I soon found out that my newness was an advantage,

64 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

because I did not fall into the routine of the professionals. Also
I worked like the very dickens interviewing Congressmen and
others who could help.

I finally found a Congressman, Leonidas C. Dyer of St.
Louis, who agreed to foster my bill. Dyer was a Republican,
and was looking for some measure that would help him get his
name in the newspapers. The incorporation bill which I was
interested in served that purpose because it was concerned with
foreign trade, a subject that was becoming prominent through
the demand for our goods, resulting from the war. Congressman
Dyer was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. I sug-
gested to him that some other committee, possibly the House
Committee 00 Foreign Affairs, might be more suitable, but he
objected to that and I quickly discovered that tremendous
jealousies exist between members of different committees.

While I was a student in the University of Missouri I had
taken several courses concerning the general subject of govern-
ment, but nothing I had ever studied in the university was of
any value to me in this matter of getting a bill through Congress,

Congressman Dyer said the first thing we should do was to
hold a "hearing," at which witnesses could be brought in to
testify to the merits of the bill which we wanted to get through.
We fixed a day, about a week in the future, and I got busy on
witnesses. 1 induced several import and export houses in New
York to send their foreign trade representatives to Washington,
and on the day of the hearing I surprised everybody by bring-
ing in the Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, to attend
our hearing. Hoover had once been a mining engineer in
China.

Everything went off in good order, except that two Senators
got up and walked out in indignation when Secretary Hoover
came in. I was astonished to learn that these gentlemen were
not on speaking terms with the Secretary of Commerce, and
one Senator told me that Hoover's support of our bill was likely
to do more harm than good. However, we had our hearings
printed in a special edition of the Congressional Record. I then

EDITOR AS LOBBYIST 65

arranged for copies to be mailed out to chambers of commerce,
whose interest in the matter I was soliciting.

After a conference with Congressman Dyer we decided to
call our proposed law "The China Trade Act, 55 thus taking
advantage of the growing interest in Far Eastern trade all over
the country. It soon became apparent to me that the matter of
getting a bill through Congress was a leg-breaking job, because
it was necessary to see so many people. Once I nearly precipi-
tated a small civil war between the State Department and the
Department of Commerce. At first I was not able to arouse any
interest in my project in either of those departments (aside
from Secretary Hoover), but after I got the thing started and
the chambers of commerce became interested in it, members of
both departments began to prick up their ears. If Congress was
going to pass our bill, then each department wanted to have a
hand in the eventual administration of the law. Since our bill
was concerned with trade, it naturally seemed to me that it
should be under the administration of the Commerce Depart-
ment, but the solicitor of the State Department did not agree
with me, and we had a wordy battle about it at one of the
hearings.

I found that one of the chief difficulties in getting a bill
through Congress is that you can never get it through both
houses in the same session. On two or three occasions we got
the bill through the House, or the Senate, but the session would
end before we could get them together for a conference to
pass the final measure. Once we got it through the Senate and
were all set for action in the House when Speaker Gillett
(Massachusetts) told us they had many more important matters
on and there was no time to bring up our precious bill.

I decided to try a little strategy. I went to Boston and got
in touch with a banker who had been in the Far East and was
interested in promoting trade with China. He gave me a
luncheon at the Bankers Club, and invited the foreign trade
representatives of the leading companies in the Boston district
to attend. While I was explaining the purpose of the measure,

66 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

there was an Interruption at the door and our chairman, Mr.
Weed, looked up and said:

"Why, there's the Mayor! Come In, Mayor, I want you to
meet a man from China."

Mayor "Andy" Peters came in and sat down next to me.
Turning to me, he said:

"But you aren't a Chinese, what are you doing in China?"

I started to explain the object of my trip, but I could see
that his mind was a hundred miles away on some other subject.
While I was talking to him I was toying with a Chinese silver
dollar which I had brought along with me as a pocket piece.
The Mayor happened to notice it and was tremendously in-
terested, as it was the first Chinese coin he had ever seen.
Turning to me he said:

"Pd give almost anything for two of those."

I said, "Well, Mayor, that isn't necessary. I have two of
them, and here they are."

He said, "I want to take these dollars home and give them
to my boys; both are coin collectors, and they will be supremely
happy to get these Chinese dollars," and then turning to me
he said:

"Now tell me what you want."

I then explained to him again the main features of the China
Trade Act and told him how we thought it would improve the
prestige and efficiency of American commercial activities in
China. Sending for a bunch of telegraph blanks, Mayor Peters
sent telegrams to all members of the Massachusetts delegation in
Congress, urging them to bring our bill up for a vote and give it
their full support.

When I returned to Washington a few days later I went
around with Congressman Dyer to call on Speaker Gillett. We
found Gillett quite friendly and he agreed to put our bill on
the schedule, saying "I find there is a lot of interest in Boston
in this measure."

I was almost tempted to remark, "Yes, it cost me two Chi-
nese dollars," but refrained.

EDITOR AS LOBBYIST 6j

A few days later the House passed our bill, and It went to
conference and ultimately emerged as the first Federal act ever
passed for the incorporation of commercial companies directly
under the government. At the final conference a clause was
inserted specifying that the act was to be administered by the
Department of Commerce, which cost me a complete snub the
next time I met the solicitor of the State Department.

The China Trade Act, which was of great assistance to small
business enterprises, unexpectedly fitted in nicely with Mr.
Hoover's plans for the expansion of American business in China
following the war. Previously, the Department of Commerce
had maintained only one representative in China, Mr. Julean
Arnold, long stationed at Peiping. After the passage of the
China Trade Act the department sent a large number of experts,
each experienced in his line, who made a thorough investigation
of economic conditions in China. Much of America's trade
expansion in China, leading finally to our leadership in that
market, resulted from the foundation laid at that time.

I don't know how many millions of dollars of American
capital were represented in corporations which had received
corporate charters under the China Trade Act, but they ran
into big figures. While it was impossible for Congress to inter-
fere with that well known institution the "Delaware company,"
it was not long before China Trade Act companies began to
enjoy greater prestige in the Orient, and in recent years prac-
tically all important American firms doing business in the Far
East have been incorporated under the regulations of the China
Trade Act.

I should have mentioned the fact that one of the advantages
provided by the China Trade Act was a tax provision which
put American firms on an equal basis with British firms which
were incorporated under the regulations of the British Crown
Colony of Hong Kong.

In this connection, I had an interesting and significant session
with Senator La Follette, the elder. While I was promoting the

68 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IX CHINA

China Trade Act among members of Congress, I was astonished
one day to see an Interview In one of the papers In which
Senator La Follette expressed strong opposition to the proposed
China Trade Act. He alleged that It was a scheme for helping
the big corporations, such as Standard Oil and United States
Steel, to exploit China. I Immediately sensed that some interested
party had been supplying Mr. La Follette with misinformation.
As a matter of fact, we had never been able to Interest any of
the Standard Oil companies in the China Trade Act, because
they were already Incorporated under State laws and, of course,
were not Interested In making any changes, and the same was
true for other big companies. The concerns which the China
Trade Act was designed to assist were smaller companies, par-
ticularly new ones which were engaging in business In the Far
East for the first time and needed the prestige and security
which such an act could give them. The big concerns which
were already established did not need the prestige, hence were
not Interested In our measure. But this did not satisfy Senator
La Follette, who had found a new stick with which to belabor
the big corporations, his favorite exercise.

I consulted with my friends about it, and suggested that I
go and see La Follette, but immediately there was a chorus of
objections.

"Don't go to see him; he will use your arguments against
you, and you can't trust him."

As a boy I had lived in the Chautauqua belt and heard many
of La Follette's speeches, particularly those directed against the
big corporations. I did not agree with those who contended that
he was just another politician. I decided to go and see him.
Luckily I had obtained, before I left Shanghai, a copy of the
incorporation laws which had been adopted In the Crown
Colony of Hong Kong. These laws entitled British companies
to incorporate under the regulations of the Crown Colony of
Hong Kong, in which manner they were able to escape the
heavy war taxes to which companies incorporated in England
were subject. It, was this advantage of British companies in their

EDITOR AS LOBBYIST 69

competition with American concerns In the Far East that we
wished to overcome. I took along with me, when I called on
Senator La Follette, a copy of the Hong Kong ordinances.

When the eminent Wisconsin Senator saw those books about
Hong Kong he was fascinated with them, and I thought I woold
never get them back. It was the first information he had ever
received that Hong Kong was a British colony. He apparently
had been under the impression all along that Hong Kong was
merely an island dependency. He was not aware of the fact that
the British had developed a government in Hong Kong which
Included a legislature, and that all property-owning citizens,
regardless of sex, color, or race, could vote. La Follette was so
fascinated by this information that he Invited me to call on him
again and ultimately gave us some of his time In the Senate, so
that we got our bill through. I have often thought that our
shipping people might have avoided much grief if they had also
gone to La Follette at the time he was fostering the original
Seamen's Acts, because La Follette came from an Interior State
and had little conception of shipping or maritime problems
from the standpoint of international competition. He therefore
believed everything the maritime union leaders told him. As for
the union leaders, they did not seem to realize that If American
ships could not compete with the British or Japanese, there
obviously could be no jobs for American seamen.

One day the floor clerk at the Washington Hotel, where I
resided while conducting my lobbying activities, brought me
a calling card bearing the name "Mary Elizabeth Wood." 1 went
down to the lobby and stood transfixed. Mary Elizabeth Wood
was about sixty years old, was dressed entirely In black with
a skirt that swept the floor, and a high stiff collar which came
up to her ears. She explained to me that she had been engaged
in missionary work for some forty years in China. She said that
she had heard there was a prospect that Congress would vote
to return to China for educational purposes several millions of
dollars which we had taken from China to cover our losses In

70 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the Boxer Rebellion. If Congress did take this action Miss Wood
wanted to get some of the money for developing modern
libraries in China. She wanted to know what to do.

1 thought a minute, and noticing a copy of the Congressional
Record on my table, I had an idea. Taking up the book, I
pointed out the list of members of the House and Senate and
said:

"If you will take that book and call on every man whose
name appears there and explain your proposition, perhaps you
can put it over,"

I had no idea she would take me seriously, but she did, and
all through the fall and winter I used to see Miss Wood's
familiar figure in the corridors as she called on the various
members, taking them in alphabetical order.

Months after, when the House passed the bill returning the
Boxer indemnity, there were a dozen members on their feet
yelling, "What about Mary Elizabeth Wood's libraries?"

She got her libraries, of course.

IX
Shantung and Washington

OWING TO CONTINUOUS DELAYS, my stay in Washington was
extended until late in 1921, when it was announced that Presi-
dent Harding had decided to call a conference for the purpose
of limiting naval armament and settling Far Eastern problems.
I decided to remain in Washington for the conference.

A few days later I happened to meet William J. H. Cochran,
of Missouri, who had been publicity director of the Democratic
National Committee during the Wilson incumbency. I asked
Cochran what he thought of Harding's action in calling the
Arms Limitation Conference. His reply was characteristic of the
prevailing sentiment among the hard-boiled Washington cor-
respondents.

Cochran said, "The Republicans are under strong obligations
to do something to help China, because Harding owes his elec-
tion to the Shantung Question, more than any other single
issue." I asked him what he meant by the statement. He replied,
"Of all the issues in the campaign, the best vote-getter the
Republicans had was the Shantung Question. Harding himself
frequently used the term 'rape of Shantung,' in his pre-election
addresses." We verified this by referring to the New York
Times index covering speeches delivered by the various candi-
dates during the campaign. Every candidate on the Republican
side from Harding down had repeatedly mentioned the Shan-
tung case and the "rape of China," in endeavoring to discredit
the Versailles Treaty and the League of Nations Covenant.

The public, during the campaign, also heard a great deal
about the secret treaties Japan had exacted from the other Allies
in which they had agreed to support Japan's demands at the

J2 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

peace conference. These treaties not only confirmed Japan's
possession of Shantung, hot of more serious import to the United
States the Allies also had agreed to Japan's control of the
Marshall, Caroline, and Marianas Islands. Our naval people
realized the danger, but they were helpless in arousing the
public to an understanding of the menace of Japan, whose
strategic position had been greatly strengthened in the war.

What was the Shantung Question?

About 1898, when it appeared that China was on the point
of dissolution, Kaiser Wilhelm, not to be outdone by Britain
and the other Powers, seized Kiaochow Bay, the best harbor
on the East China coast. His justification for seizing this port
was the murder of two German Catholic missionaries by Chi-
nese bandits in Shantung Province. When the Kaiser seized
Kiaochow Bay, he also took over a small Chinese fishing village
known as Tsingtao. In order to outdo the British and Russians,
the Kaiser sent some of his best city planners to Tsingtao, and
they cleared off the dirty Chinese town and laid out the most
attractive port on the China coast. It was like a little bit of
Germany, had clean paved streets, attractive stores and resi-
dences, and quickly became the most popular seaside resort on
the coast. The Germans also obtained a concession from the
Chinese to build a railroad extending inland for a distance of
about^25o miles, and connecting with the trunk-line Tientsin-
Nanking R.R. at Tsinan, capital of the province. This was about
the extent of German "aggression" in China before World
War I.

The Japanese, of course, did not like the German develop-
ment on the China coast any more than they had liked Russian
development at Dairen, or British naval development at the port
of Wei-hai-wei a few miles to the north of Tsingtao. Therefore
when World War I broke out the Japanese wasted no time in
launching an attack on Tsingtao. The Germans kept only a
small garrison at Tsingtao, but the German forts were so well

SHANTUNG AND WASHINGTON 73

constructed, with modern revolving turrets, that the Japs never
did succeed in getting inside the harbor with their fleet. They
finally captured Tsingtao, but they had to do it by invading
Chinese territory and attacking from the land side. When the
Germans saw there was no chance of relief, they capitulated and
were interned for the duration of the war. It was said that the
great Japanese beer industry dated from this period, because
the interned Germans taught the Japanese the art of making
beer.

I once asked Dr. Sao-ke Alfred Sze, the Chinese Ambas-
sador, why the Chinese raised such strong objection to Japan
in Shantung, when they made no objection to the Germans.
Dr. Sze replied, "The Germans were constructive, while the
Japanese were destructive." The Germans adhered to the orig-
inal treaty, but the Japs went beyond the treaty and overran
the entire province. Also the Japs introduced the "dope" trade
into the province and were actively demoralizing the Chinese
by means of morphine and heroin, which the Japanese manu-
factured from opium in enormous quantities in their concession
at Tientsin. Morphine and heroin, though chemical derivatives
of opium, are far more harmful than the original opium, with
which the Chinese were already familiar.

Americans were deeply stirred by the Japanese occupation
of Shantung because it constituted a violation of the Open Door
policy which had been traditional with us since the days of
Secretary of State John Hay, but behind the Shantung issue
was the more important matter of Japan's control of the Man-
dated Islands the Marshalls, Carolines, and Marianas, which
Japan had also seized from Germany at the beginning of the
war. These islands constituted an impenetrable barrier between
us and the Philippines, and the continent of Asia, despite the
fact that the Japs had agreed not to fortify the islands.

As Cochran explained to me, the Republicans were under
heavy obligations to do something about the so-called Far
Eastern Question "because they owed their election largely to

74 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

this issue." Cochran, of course, admitted that behind this in-
centive was a desire on the part of some members of the new
Administration to uphold traditional American policies in the
Far East, particularly the Open Door in China. Turning to me
he said, "You have lived in China, what about the Open Door?"

I explained that along about 1898-1900 it appeared that
China was on the point of being divided among the Powers.
Russia had taken advantage of the Boxer incident to overrun
Manchuria, Great Britain had established herself in the Yangtze
Valley, and had taken steps to develop a naval base at the port
of Wei-hai-wei. Germany had seized Kiaochow Bay, and was
building a naval base at Tsingtao. The Japanese, who were late
at the banquet, were preparing to fight the Russians for a
share of Manchuria. The French had Indo-China, and a con-
cession on the South China coast at Kwangchowan.

The Americans were definitely left out with no concessions,
or spheres of influence, on the continent of Asia. It was at this
point that Secretary of State John Hay made his proposal for
an "Open Door" doctrine in Asia. Since Hay had been Min-
ister to Great Britain, it was suspected that Great Britain was
behind the program. And such was the case, as British com-
mercial interests realized that the trade of a unified China was
worth more than the exclusive trade of a section of the
country.

The British also did not want to face the consequences of
carving up a nation of 400,000,000 souls. They feared reper-
cussions in European politics. A mission to the Far East, headed
by Admiral Lord Beresford, had advised against the dismember-
ment of the Chinese Empire. Beresford had returned by way
of Washington and consulted with the Americans.

Hence the Open Door, proposed in a series of notes to the
other Powers by John Hay. It amounted to a repudiation of the
"sphere of influence" policies of the other nations. The Open
Door in the Far East took its place with the Monroe Doctrine
as an American foreign policy.

We had heeded Washington's advice about keeping free of

SHANTUNG AND WASHINGTON 75

Europe's quarrels (up to World War I), but never hesitated
to involve ourselves in Asiatic politics, seemingly without ob-
jection on the part of the American public.

And now to return to the subject of the Conference:

After considerable thought the State Department finally de-
cided to invite the Chinese to send a delegation. It was the first
time China had ever sat in an international conference as a "free
and independent Power." This element aroused so much en-
thusiasm in China that the Government sent a delegation of
about three hundred persons, including secretaries, stenog-
raphers, and assistants; so many in fact that Dr. Sze, the Minister,
had difficulty in feeding and housing them.

Since the State Department's invitation was sent to the
Peking Government, the Kuomintang regime at Canton im-
mediately raised a tremendous howl and sent a rival delegation
which sniped at the Peking delegates throughout the meeting.
There was even an attempt to assassinate Dr. Sun at Canton
during the conference.

The Japanese were not enthusiastic about the Washington
Conference, and approached the meeting somewhat in the mood
of a naughty child called to the teacher's desk for a reprimand.
They were suspicious of the conference because they knew
it was designed primarily to obstruct their schemes for China.
But with their potential ally, Germany, out of the running and
with Russia involved in a communist revolution at her very
back door, the Japanese felt it would be better to attend than
stay out. Japan's acceptance of the invitation was actually not
received until two weeks after all the other official acceptances
were in; and it was widely reported that Japan's decision to
attend the conference resulted from assurances from British
sources that Japan "would not be treated badly" at the meeting.
However, any assurances from British circles could hardly have
carried much weight, in view of the fact that one of the chief
objectives of the conference, though not stated in the formal
invitation, was to abrogate the Anglo- Japanese alliance.

y6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Although strong opposition to the continuance of the Anglo-
Japanese alliance had developed in the United States during the
war, it was the opposition of the Dominion of Canada that
forced Great Britain to give serious consideration to the matter
of discontinuing the pact. The Canadians felt, as did Americans,
that the belligerent clauses in the alliance imposed dangerous
obligations on Great Britain in the event of an outbreak of war
between Japan and the United States. The Canadians, due to
the geographical situation of the two countries, also had experi-
enced complications with Japan over immigration questions.
Immigration complications which the United States had experi-
enced with Japan in California in 1908 were paralleled in
Canada. Thus, when American-Japanese relations became acute
in 1921, the Dominion of Canada was more affected by the so-
called "North American" point of view as opposed to the Lon-
don "imperial" viewpoint. In consequence there developed in
Canada a national demand for termination of the alliance.

Arthur Meighen, the Canadian Premier, urged the substitu-
tion of a four-Power conference on Pacific affairs, to be par-
ticipated in by the United States, Britain, China, and Japan.
But at the Imperial Conference in London Meighen's efforts met
strong opposition not only from Lloyd George, but from Cur-
zon, Balfour, and Lee, all of whom feared the menace of an
antagonized Japan toward India and Britain's other territorial
and economic stakes in Eastern Asia and the Pacific. In the hot
debate which ensued the delegates from Australia, New Zealand
and India sided with Britain, while South Africa favored re-
vision rather than abrogation. But Meighen stood his ground,
and ultimately brought the imperial conference around to his
point of view. It was this discussion in the Imperial Conference,
plus England's desire to reach an understanding with the United
States on the limitation of naval construction, that paved the
way for the calling of the Washington Conference.

Aside from France and Italy, which possessed naval arma-
ment of considerable strength, and also held concessions in
China, the other European Powers invited to the conference

SHANTUNG AND WASHINGTON JJ

Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal held either concessions in
China or colonial territories in the region of the Pacific.

The conference in many ways was of unusual significance:
it was America's initial attempt to invoke an international con-
ference for the purpose of reaching a peaceful settlement of
questions which had long threatened war in the Pacific. At-
tendance was entirely voluntary in the sense that the conference
was not made up of delegates representing victorious and van-
quished nations, as had been the case at Versailles. The British
delegation was made up of representatives not only of Great
Britain but of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

European and Japanese delegates were astonished when
Charles E. Hughes, chairman of the American delegation, an-
nounced at the opening session that the United States was pre-
pared to stop its naval building program and, more, was prepared
to scrap a number of warships which were in an advanced stage
of construction. The American proposal was so contrary to
professional diplomatic practice that the delegates stared at each
other in wonderment, but it was a proposal which the British
could hardly afford to contest, since the British Admiralty wp,s
already concerned by the American naval construction program.

It was finally agreed that the Anglo-Japanese alliance would
be abandoned, and Japan was persuaded to accept a 5:5:3 naval
ratio with the United States and Great Britain. A compensation
for Japan was the agreement that the United States would not
increase or continue its construction of fortifications on naval
and military positions west of the iSoth meridian, American
naval experts did their best in private to prevent the limiting
of our fortifications on naval positions in the Western Pacific,
and also to prevent the curtailment of the United States naval
building program, but they fought a losing fight.

All of the agreements, resolutions, and proposals at the con-
ference were more or less linked together around the central
document, which was the Nine-Power Treaty with China, upon
which all commitments depended, including the major issue

7 8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of limitation of naval armament and curtailment of construction
on naval bases in the Pacific area. The Nine-Power Treaty came
to be known as the "Chinese Charter of Liberty," because it
put an end to the old sphere-of-inflnence doctrine which had
obsessed Europe and Japan, and for more than a quarter of a
century had threatened dismemberment of China. Aside from
the Nine-Power Treaty, the Washington Conference also
adopted other measures concerned with the future development
of China as a unified state. The Japanese were forced to with-
draw their troops from Shantung Province and restore the
former German interests at Tsingtao, including control of the
port and railway running into the interior of the province, to
Chinese control. The conference also approved a resolution to
send a delegation to China to investigate the relinquishment of ex-
traterritoriality, which had hampered the development of modern
Chinese courts and had infringed upon the sovereignty of the
country. It also was recommended that steps be taken to assist
China in modernizing her currency and her fiscal system, and
finally the Powers agreed to withdraw their postal agencies from
China and consented to the calling of a conference to revise
the Chinese tariff, leading in the direction of tariff autonomy.
Also of importance from the standpoint of Russian interests
in the Far East, the Japanese were forced to withdraw their
troops from Siberia, where they had been stationed since World
War I.

I attended the various plenary sessions and sat in the press
section, from which point it was possible to observe the work-
ings of the conference. There were several amusing incidents
which were not on the agenda. One occurred when the gallery
shouted for Aristide Briand, head of the French Legation.
William Jennings Bryan, ex-Secretary of State, and outstanding
pacifist, sat in the front row of the visitors' gallery facing the
press. Bryan's benign countenance had become familiar at recep-
tions. He was quite happy over the arms-scrapping phases of
the conference, and insisted that this was a direct result of his

SHANTUNG AND WASHINGTON 79

efforts on behalf of world peace. When the crowd yelled for
Briand, Bryan thought they were calling for him and was on
his feet before a friend seized his coat-tail and polled him down*

The French displayed little enthusiasm for the conference
and, while they agreed to restore to China the French-leased
territory at Kwangchowan, southwest of Canton, they did so
with poor grace and actually never carried out the terms of their
agreement.

Another amusing incident at the first plenary session also
concerned the French. The various delegations were grouped
about the large rectangular table in alphabetical order, America
first, then Britain, China, and so on. The heads of the various
delegations at the opening session used the English language,
until they reached the French, who insisted on speaking in
French. It was the first important international conference in
which French was not the official language. The French in-
sistence on use of their own language necessitated a consid-
erable delay while Briand's remarks were translated into English.
The next day one of the Washington columnists referred to the
French as "the only foreigners at the conference." This state-
ment, plus a cartoon in one of the Baltimore papers showing
La Belle France in the act of trying on the old German military
helmet, caused the French to lodge an official protest with the
State Department regarding the anti-French attitude of the
Washington" press.

Secretary of State Charles E. Hughes was the outstanding
figure at the conference, but he resembled more the religious
crusader than the statesman. There were two occasions during
the conference when Hughes pounded on the table to enforce
his point; the first concerned the scrapping of naval vessels, and
the second occurred when he reminded the Japanese of their
promise to evacuate Siberia. He accused them of violating an
understanding with the United States and Britain when the
decision was made to intervene in Siberia in the latter months
of the World War. Each nation had agreed to send one division
of troops for use in policing the railways to the east of Lake

80 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IX CHINA

Baikal The United States sent 7,000 troops; the Japanese sent
70,000 and occupied the entire coast from Sakhalin Island down.
Since the American troops had been evacuated from Siberia,
Secretary Hughes asked the Japanese flatly what they intended
to do. The question brought forth from the Japanese a mumbled
reply that they were already making a plan for evacuation. The
United States had turned down the application of the Russian
Soviets to send a delegation to the conference, but the action
of Secretary Hughes was of very great service to the Russians,
who at that time lacked military power to force the Japanese
evacuation of their Far Eastern territory.

The Japanese delegation retained counsel during the con-
ference. Their legal advisers were the well-known firm of Cad-
walader, Wickersham and Taft. The Taft was Henry, brother
of President Taft, while Mr. Wickersham had served as Attor-
ney-General.

Dr. Alfred Sze, chairman of the Chinese delegation, was
responsible for another amusing story which was repeated about
Washington during the conference. After the Japanese had
finally yielded to pressure and announced their intention of
withdrawing their troops from Shantung, Secretary Hughes
issued instructions for the Chinese and Japanese delegates to
confer at once in order to arrange the details of the Japanese
evacuation. Secretary Hughes remarked, "I am an old man and
I want to see the Shantung Question settled before I die." He
authorized the American and the British delegations to appoint
observers to sit in on the Shantung conversation, to see that
the terms were carried out. The British representative was Sir
John Jordan, former British Minister, an expert on China. The
American observer was John Van Antwerp MacMurray, former
American charge d'affaires at Peking and later Chief of the Far
Eastern Division of the State Department. At one of the sessions,
when the Chinese and Japanese delegates were discussing the
disposition of German properties, the Japanese, for some reason,
insisted on keeping control of the municipal laundry in Tsingtao,
an institution which had been established by the Germans. After

SHANTUNG AND WASHINGTON 8 1

squabbling over the control of this municipal property* for
several hours, Dr. Sze whispered to MacMurray, "Let the Japs
have the laundry the Chinese have always had the reputation
of being the world's laundrymen. We are now glad to permit
the Japs to share some of that reputation."

Why did the Washington Conference fail? A cynical news-
paper friend recently declared: "It had to fail because the Re-
publican Administration lacked sincerity they never intended
to put the provisions of the conference into effect. They were
only interested in one thing, reduction of taxes; and they ac-
complished that objective by scuttling the American fleet. The
adoption of the so-called 5:5:3 naval program which gave us
equality with Great Britain was only a subterfuge, as there was
no intention to maintain our end of the bargain. Neither the
Coolidge nor the Hoover Administration constructed a single
new warship. Coolidge was too stingy to spend any money, and
Hoover, the Quaker, was opposed to any kind of a navy on
principle. As for Harding, he never had any ideas on the subject
aside from those of the Republican bosses, who wanted to save
money and reduce taxes. Our fleet paid the penalty."

But this cynical view obviously did not tell the whole story.
Another friend elaborated: "We were all responsible for the
failure of the Washington Conference because we were a
disillusioned people. The let-down and disillusionment which
followed the war were so complete that we permitted the
pacifists and internationalists and paid propagandists represent-
ing foreign interests to dominate our national policy. The Japs
were quick to take advantage of this situation, ready-made for
their purposes. It was estimated that the Japs expended no less
than $10,000,000 annually in the United States on their various
propaganda schemes."

A Chinese friend, too independent-minded to be in office,
also explained the predicament of China resulting from the
Washington Conference: "They gave us a charter of liberty,
but failed to provide the means for making our new inde-

Sz MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

pendence effective. Take the case of extraterritoriality many
months elapsed before the United States appointed its delegates
to the International conference authorized to make an investiga-
tion. Silas H. Strawn, of Chicago, head of the American dele-
gation, finally denounced the State Department for its dilator!-
ness. Worst of all, America continued to grant diplomatic
recognition to the most reactionary elements in China, the mili-
tary factions which supported the Peking Government, while
Ignoring Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang associates who
were developing a more modern nationalist form of govern-
ment. Finally, It was largely the fault of the United States and
Great Britain that the new Nationalist Government at Canton
was permitted to come under Russian influence."

X
Wars in the North

THE WASHINGTON ARMS CONFERENCE concluded its work on
February 6, 1922, and since the China Trade Act had passed
both houses of Congress and was in the hands of the conference
committee, I decided to return to Shanghai immediately. At
that time I felt very optimistic over the developments in Wash-
ington. I had succeeded in accomplishing what had been re-
garded as almost impossible in inducing Congress to enact a
Federal incorporation law for firms engaged in foreign trade in
the Orient.

In addition to this the Washington Conference had laid the
foundation for a new deal in American policy in the Far East.
Its chief accomplishment, it seemed to me, was the enhancement
of American prestige in China. The United States at last had
assumed a position of leadership, and through peaceful means
had induced the other nations to agree to the fundamentals of
American policy, particularly the Open Door and the estab-
lishment of a guarantee of China's political and territorial in-
tegrity as an independent nation.

Conditions in China, however, were far from encouraging
when I arrived in Shanghai on the S.S. Silver State on May 4,
1922. The first of a series of "wars" between Marshal Chang
Tso-lin, War Lord of Manchuria, who was supposed to have
Japanese support, and General Wu Pei-fu, leading militarist of
North China, had just broken out. Due to the interest in China
aroused by the Washington Conference, the conflict received
big headlines in the American papers.

I made a trip to Peking to survey the situation, and was in-
terested to see that there was little disturbance of business or

83

84 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IX CHINA

even of railway travel. The only evidence of the war was the
frequent stops of our train to permit military specials to pass.
Chinese farmers along the way were working in their fields as
usual I found that the northern provinces which made a pre-
of loyalty to the central government at Peking were con-
trolled by politicians and militarists interested only in increasing
their own power. General Wu Pei-fu, with headquarters at
Loyang, was in process of defeating Chang Tso-lin with the
help of General Feng Yu-hsiang, the Christian General. I was
somewhat nonplussed to learn that Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Canton
was allegedly in alliance with Marshal Chang Tso-lin against
Wu Pei-fu. However, the alliance came to nothing, because
Wu Pei-fu succeeded in driving Chang Tso-lin back to Man-
churia before Dr. Sun got started.

General Wu Pei-fu, who came nearer to unifying the coun-
try than any other leader during the difficult phase of the
"period of the War Lords/* from 1922 to the advent of Gen-
eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek in 1928, was in many ways an able
and colorful figure. He always startled foreigners who inter-
viewed him, because his appearance differed considerably from
the average Chinese of the northern provinces. Wu had a red
mustache, his head was longer, his forehead higher, and his nose
more prominent than the average. Also he was better educated
than other military men of the period, being a licensed graduate
of the old literary civil service examinations.

Wu had another characteristic which was unusual among
Chinese; he was a heavy drinker, not only of the native shaoshing
or samshu wine but of imported brandy as well. On one oc-
casion when Wu's generals were giving him an elaborate birth-
day party a present arrived from Wu's then chief ally, the
Christian General, Feng Yu-hsiang. The present was bulky and
required two servants to carry it into the banquet room. When
unpacked the parcel was found to contain a large porcelain vase
of rare type. The servants removed the covering from the top
of the vase and placed it on the table in front of the guest of
honor. General Wu arose and poured himself a liberal tumbler

WARS IN THE NORTH 85

from the vase and raised It to his lips as he offered a toast to the
donor. But he stopped short and spat out the mouthful of
water, which was what the vase contained. In view of Wu's
well known drinking habits the suggestion implied in the Chris-
tian General's gift was not lost on the military men present.

My last interview with General Wu, and probably his last
interview with any foreign newspaperman, was in the winter
of 1926-27, after he had been appointed commander-in-chief
of the Allied Anti-Red Army and had established Ms head-
quarters at Hankow in Central China. Despite his high-sounding
title, Wu's position was pathetic, as it constituted the last stand
of the reactionary northern militarists against the advancing
Nationalist revolutionary forces from the south. I met Wu at
breakfast in the garden of an old Chinese home where he had
his headquarters. He had been drinking more heavily than usual,
and was depressed because of the collapse of his forces in
Hunan; they had been completely demoralized by the Russian-
trained propaganda corps which preceded the advance of the
Nationalist troops. The Communists exerted their best efforts in
Hunan and executed their "fifth columnist" work so well that
Wu's troops fell back without fighting, and while they put up
a strong fight at Wuchang, last remaining stronghold in central
China, they ultimately withdrew.

Wu was carrying an old and frayed Chinese book in his
hand, and frequently glanced at it during our breakfast inter-
view. I asked him what the title of the book was. He smiled and
said, "Military Campaigns of the Kingdom of Wu," and then
added, "They didn't have any machine guns or airplanes then."

Wu retired after his defeat. He always refused political
office, and never profited personally, although for a considerable
period he had been the most powerful military man in the coun-
try. He always insisted he was a military man and knew nothing
about politics which probably explained his failure, as warfare
in China had become more political than military, as the all-
conquering Nationalists proved.

General Feng Yu-hsiang, who in 1922 was supporting Gen-

86 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

eral Wo, was another unusual character. Feng's army, which
marched to the tune "Onward, Christian Soldiers," was the
predecessor of the Communist Eighth Route Army in the Chi-
nese northwest. Like the commanders of the present-day
Chinese Red Army, Feng Yu~hsiang also received special train-
ing in Russia and his soldiers carried Russian rifles, some of them
being American-made, sold or given to the Czarist Government
in World War I.

Karl Radek, former Soviet publicist and disciple of Trotsky,
who was imprisoned in return for his confession, in Stalin's
purge, used to entertain his friends with stories about Feng Yu-
hsiang, who was in one of Radek's classes in revolutionary tech-
nique. He said that Feng, who came from northern Chinese
peasant stock, sat stolidly through most of the lectures without
evincing any outward interest in the subjects under discussion.
One day, however, Feng suddenly pricked up his ears and began
asking questions. The particular lecture which had aroused
Feng's interest dealt with army finance and the financing of
occupied territory, subjects of deep concern to Chinese gen-
erals, many of whom managed in one way or another to amass
comfortable fortunes out of funds which passed through their
hands.

Feng came up through the ranks and learned the art of war
the hard way. Somewhere along the line he fell under the in-
fluence of an American missionary and was converted to Chris-
tianity. While Governor of Honan he once ordered an entire
division baptized in the Christian faith by total immersion in
the Yellow River. While he was stationed in Peking in 1924 he
married the secretary of the Peking Y.W.C.A. Politically Feng
was an undependable ally; in 1924, when Marshal Wu Pei-fu
was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with Chang Tso-lin,
Feng, who was holding the Peking district, rebelled and seized
the capital. He made the then President Tsao Kun a prisoner
and chased the Manchu Boy Emperor from the Forbidden City,
where he had resided as a government ward since the revolution
in 1911.

WARS IN THE NORTH 87

Once, in company with a number of other correspondents,
I Interviewed Feng. One of the newspapermen, I think it was
the New York Times man, said in the course of his introduction,
"General, you are a very big man." Feng, who was over six
feet and large in proportion, replied, "Yes, if you would cut off
my head and put it on top of yours, we would then be equal/*
The correspondent puzzled over that remark for several days.

While Feng was in command of northwest troops at Kalgan
on the border of Inner Mongolia at the famous Nankow Pass
in the Great Wall, he engaged a number of American mission-
aries and college professors to lecture to him on international
politics. As it was necessary for the lecturers to stay in his yamea
as guests for two or three days, Feng inquired of a friend as to
what food foreigners preferred to eat. The friend, not realizing
the purport of the inquiry, replied, "ice cream/' As a result
Feng fed his foreign professors on ice cream and little else during
their entire stay in the Mongolian border town.

After his return from Russia, Feng joined forces with the
Nationalists and helped oust the northern militarists, but later he
rebelled against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and joined other
rebels, including Wang Ching-wei, in establishing a so-called
"Coalition Government" in Peking. When the coalition was
ousted from Peking, Feng went into retirement, but he rejoined
the National Government when the Japanese invaded Man-
churia in 1931.

I well remember an interview I had with Marshal Chang
Tso-lin in the spring of 1923. I was on a trip through China
with a group of American Congressmen who made a tour
through the Orient following the Washington Conference.

Chang Tso-lin, military dictator of Manchuria, was popularly
known among the Chinese as the Manchurian Hungutzu, which
translated literally, meant "Red-Bearded Bandit/' The term
originated among the Chinese of North Manchuria, who applied
it to the Russian buccaneers who first entered that country from
Siberia several centuries ago. In consequence the term has since

88 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

been applied to all outlaws of any nationality who operated in
the wilds of Manchuria. Another term applied to Chang Tso-lin
by foreigners was "Manchurian Tiger," indicating fearlessness
and ruthlessness. I had frequently heard both terms and was
prepared to meet a fierce, bearded outlaw with a gun on each
hip. I was, therefore, astonished when Marshal Chang Tso-lin,
small, mild, beardless, entered the room where I had been told
to wait for him. However, the "tiger" designation returned to
my mind when he escorted me to an adjoining room and asked
me to sit on a sofa facing him. Directly back of the sofa, so
near that their whiskers brushed the back of my head, were two
stuffed Manchurian tigers which looked to be at least ten feet
long. They were facing each other with their jaws open in a
fierce snarl, and their heads were not more than six inches apart,
directly behind my head.

I interviewed the Marshal regarding domestic Chinese poli-
tics, and he assured me that his intentions were entirely pacific;
that he was only interested in unifying China by force, if
necessary. He denied that the Japanese had anything to do with
his decision.

During my interview I repeated the reports about his rela-
tions with Japan. He told me that he had served on the Japanese
side during the Russo-Japanese war as a guerrilla leader,
harassing the communication lines of the Russians, and prob-
ably had a great deal to do with the defeat of the Russians in
their war with Japan in 1905. No one was in a better position
for this work than Chang Tso-lin, for he was a product of the
Manchurian mountains and forests.

Little was known of his parents, but, according to popular
report, his father was also a Hungutzu. I laughingly asked him
where he obtained his education and, with a twinkle in his eye,
he replied, through his interpreter, "I was educated in the
School of Forestry," which answer indicated that he also
possessed a sense of humor.

Following his defeat by Wu Pei-fu in 1922, Chang Tso-lin
maintained an independent position in Manchuria, refusing to

WARS IN THE NORTH 89

permit the Government in Peking to interfere in the administra-
tion of the Manchurian provinces, although the Chinese mari-
time customs, telegraph administration, and other organs con-
tinued to function in his territory.

Late in 1926 he again returned to Peking, this time to assist
the northern Tuchuns, or military governors, in opposing Gen-
eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist forces, which
had just come into power in the Yangtze Valley and created
the new Nationalist Government at Nanking.

It was widely believed that Marshal Chang Tso-lin was
being pressed by the Japanese Kwantung or Manchurian mili-
tary faction which wanted to prevent Chiang Kai-shek and the
Nationalists from assuming control over North China. The ele-
ment of Japanese support, however, was denied by Chang, who
insisted that he w.as independent of the Japanese, which denial
he reiterated in another interview which I had with him at
Peking, prior to Chiang Kai-shek's advances into the northern
provinces. I remembered that the Manchurian War Lord had
once been in alliance with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, s the Cantonese
leader.

When Chiang Kai-shek's army reached Shantung Province,
Chang Tso-lin, for reasons of his own, suddenly withdrew from
Peking and returned to Mukden. As his train was passing
through a viaduct, under the Japanese South Manchurian Rail-
way, there was a tremendous explosion and Chang Tso-lin's
private car was blown to smithereens, and with it Chang and
several of his military subordinates and associates in the Man-
churian Government. Since the explosion occurred at a closely
guarded section of the Japanese railway, it was obvious that the
Japanese army in Manchuria was responsible for the action,
apparently as punishment for Chang's refusal to remain in
Peking and oppose the Nationalist army. The incident caused a
serious crisis in Tokyo, resulting in the resignation of the Pre-
mier, who stated in his official announcement that he was forced
to relinquish office "because of an incident in another country."
Chang Tso-lin was succeeded as ruler of Manchuria by his

90 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

son, Chang Hsueh-liang, who immediately declared himself in
favor of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, and hoisted the
Nationalist flag over all government buildings throughout
Manchuria.

Although under the heel of the Japanese militarists and often
forced to do their bidding, Chang Tso-lin was a patriotic Chi-
nese for all that. He contributed much of his fortune to educa-
tion, and while himself without the benefit of book learning, he
had a good knowledge of the game of international politics
played by the Russians and Japanese in northeastern Asia. He
played his cards wisely, and managed to keep his territory intact.

During the year which followed my return from the Wash-
ington Conference, important developments were taking place
at my office. Mr. Millard, who had been actively engaged in its
management for only a short time after it was founded, decided
to withdraw entirely from the Review. When he had left
Shanghai for a trip to New York in 1917, I had no idea that he
would not return, but his stay was extended from month to
month, and year to year. In 1922 he decided to accept an ad-
visory position with the Chinese Government, and I took over his
stock interest in the Review, thus becoming financially and edi-
torially responsible for the paper. The financial outlook was
complicated by the fact that the support which Millard had
received from Mr. Crane was not continued following his with-
drawal. I was therefore left in the position of lifting myself by
my own bootstraps. Had it not been for the advertising con-
tracts I had obtained with Chinese concerns, we would have
had difficulty in continuing publication. I decided at this time
to change the name of the Review, the full title of which was
Millard's Review of the Far East, I had in any case always
regarded the original title as too restrictive and personal. We
experimented with various names, the first being The Weekly ^
Review of the Far East, and ultimately the title which we
adopted in June, 1923, was The China Weekly Review.

While considering the matter of a new name for the paper,

WARS IN THE NORTH 9!

I made an interesting discovery. I found the old saying "What's
in a name" had a peculiar application in China, because a name
once established could never be changed. This applies not only
to the name itself, but also to the manner in which it is written,
foreign firms trading in China guard their names and the names
of their products most jealously, because the slightest change
often creates in the minds of the customers suspicions which may
have disastrous results. This refers particularly to the name as
written in the Chinese language, although the manner of writing
or printing the English name is also important; Chinese naturally
look at the Chinese characters first, even though they are familiar
with the English language. We therefore continued the title as
written in Chinese characters as it had appeared originally
(Millar f s Review of the Far East).

XI

Incident of the Blue Express

i A Chinese Hold-Up

ON THE EVENING OF MAY 5, 1923, I was traveling between
Nanking and Peking, together with a few other newspapermen.
Our destination was a recently completed reclamation project
which the American Red Cross had financed in connection with
a famine-relief project on the Yellow River. Our train, con-
sisting of first-, second-, and third-class coaches, was China's
crack "Blue Express," the first train of all-steel coaches ever
seen in the Orient, which had been purchased by the Chinese
Railway Administration in the United States only a few months
before. The first-class coaches were made up entirely of com-
partments and all were filled by passengers of a half dozen or
more nationalities, some on trips around the world, others busi-
nessmen on local trips.

Among the passengers were Americans, Britons, French-
men, Italians, Mexicans, one Rumanian, and numerous Chinese.
There were many women and children, including Miss Lucy
Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and daughter
of the late Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island. Miss
Aldrich was traveling with a companion, a Miss McFadden, and
a French maid, Mademoiselle Schonberg. There were two
tMted States Army officers on board, Major Allen and Major
Finger, with their wives and children, and several French and
American businessmen. The Mexicans were Mr. and Mrs.
Ancera Verea of Guadalajara, who were on a honeymoon trip
through the Orient. Mr. Verea was a well known industrialist.
Another passenger was "Commendatore" G. D. Musso, an ex-
ceedingly wealthy Italian lawyer who had amassed a fortune

92

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 93

in mysterious ways in the Shanghai International Settlement.
For many years he was attorney for the Shanghai Opium Com-
bine. Musso became one of the early backers of Mussolini and
half owner of one of the leading newspapers in Rome. He was
accompanied by his attractive secretary, Signorina Pirelli. I
later learned that a number of Japanese, who had boarded the
train at Shanghai with through tickets to Peking, had mysteri-
ously debarked during the evening when the train reached the
town of Hsuchowfu.

My compartment-mate was a Frenchman named Berube, an
employee of the Chinese Customs Administration, who was re-
turning to his work in China after extended service in the French
army on the Western Front. I had not known him previously,
but the recent war in Europe and the disturbed political situa-
tion in the Far East provided subjects for conversation that
kept us up until 2 A.M. It was early spring and a bright moon
was shining, making the barren rocky Shantung Mountains
quite visible in the distance. We had raised the window so as
to enjoy the warm breeze, and just before retiring I looked out
the window and remarked to Berube that we were passing
through "bandit territory," as the mountainous area including
parts of three provinces, Kiangsu, Anhwei, and Shantung,
had long been notorious as a haunt for roving bands of ex-sol-
diers who had served in the provincial armies and, being unable
to find jobs, had taken up banditry. Some of the bandit leaders
had a Robin Hood reputation, but most of them were engaged
in plain outlawry, looting towns and villages and kidnaping
their inhabitants.

The train had just crossed the divide from Kiangsu into
Shantung Province and was proceeding slowly, when there was
a sudden grinding of brakes and the cars came to an abrupt
halt so abrupt that many passengers were tumbled out of
their berths. There was a great deal of shouting and firing out-
side, and I stuck my head out of the window to see what was
going on. I quickly withdrew it, however, when a bandit fired
his rifle in the air within a couple of feet of my head, but I had

94 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

time to see what looked like a small army of men swarming
down the embankment, yelling and firing their rifles as they
came. They climbed into the cars through the windows, ran
along the corridors and began routing the passengers out of
their berths while they ransacked the baggage. One man, a
Rumanian, objected to being pushed around and threw a teapot
at his captor. The bandit raised his rifle and fired, killing the
man instantly. There was no further resistance. I had in my bag
a small .zj-caliber automatic I had purchased in Washington.
My French compartment-mate also had his service revolver, but
we quickly decided that our armament was outclassed by the
weapons in the hands of the highwaymen, and handed over our
revolvers without protest. The bandits in our compartment were
so elated by getting our guns that they permitted us to put on
our clothes and shoes, a lucky break for us as most of the
passengers, women as well as men, were attired only in their
nightgowns and pajamas as the bandits lined us up along the
embankment.

Placing a guard over us, the bandits completed the looting
of the train, including the baggage and mail car. Even the
mattresses and rugs were torn out, and I noticed one bandit
who had filled his pockets with electric light bulbs. The job
completed, the chief, a young man whom we later came to
know as Sven Mao-yao, gave the order to march and we started
out single file up a dry rocky ravine into the mountains. Each
captive was accompanied by two bandits, one on each side.
There were about two hundred passengers on the train, but the
bandits numbered fully a thousand.

The Frenchman and I shook hands and made a mutual vow
that we would stick together and help each other to the end,
regardless of the outcome. As we stumbled up the ravine we
heard a woman crying, and hurrying along we came on
Mademoiselle Schonberg, the French maid, who was limping
and holding her side as though she had been wounded. As we
helped her over the rocks she told us, in a mixture of French
and English, that she was Miss Aldrich's n^id and was carrying,

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 95

concealed Inside her nightgown, a purse containing her mistress's
jewelry. She had managed to conceal the purse from the prying
eyes of the bandits by holding It inside her nightgown and
pretending she was injured. She asked us what to do with the
jewelry, as she feared the purse would be detected after day-
light. ^Neither Berube nor I wished to take the responsibility of
protecting the Aldrich diamonds, and 1 advised Mademoiselle
to throw the purse into the field and trust that an honest farmer
would find it. Mademoiselle decided, however, to keep the
purse, even though It might cost her her life. We finally induced
the bandits to permit her and the small son of one of the Amer-
ican army officers to ride one of the donkeys that the bandits
had caught in a field through which we passed.

Daybreak revealed one of the strangest sights that these
ancient hills had ever witnessed. The train passengers, each still
accompanied by two individual captors, were strung out for a
half mile up the side of the mountain, while to the rear there
was another straggling line of bandits almost as long, sweating
under the loot they had taken from the train, including our
suitcases and even the precious mattresses from the sleeping
berths. As the sun came up and it grew warmer and the climb
more precipitous, the bandits would dump the mattresses on the
ground and sit or lie on them.

All of the bandits had trinkets they had taken from the
compartments, including tooth brushes and paste, safety razors
and shaving cream, cameras and rolls of films, fountain pens,
rings of keys, pocket knives, tins of talcum powder, and
women's beauty accessories. One bandit had found a lady's
brassiere which he had tied about his waist; he was using the
compartments to carry his valuables. Since most of the passen-
gers were without shoes, the going was slow and hazardous and
painful, as there was only a narrow rocky path leading to the
summit of the mountain. Since Berube and I had our shoes we
walked faster and soon were at the head of the long line. There
I noticed a woman riding a donkey bareback and having con-

96 MY TWENtY-FlVE YEARS IN CHINA

siderable difficulty in staying on and keeping her silk nightgown
from blowing away entirely in the gale. I searched my mind to
think of something I could do to help her. Noticing a bandit
carrying a lady's broad-brimmed straw hat which he had taken
from the train, I asked him for it and pointed toward the woman
on the donkey. He laughed and handed me the hat. I caught up
with the donkey-rider, who was Miss Aldrich, and handed her
the hat, but she soon threw it away, as it was impossible to
keep it on and remain on the donkey at the same time. She
needed other articles of attire more than the hat.

Our slow pace up the mountainside was suddenly accelerated
by rifle shots fired from a considerable distance in the rear
which zimmed over our heads and ricocheted off the rocks
above us. The shots were fired by a contingent of militia which
had been dispatched from a nearby town by the railway authori-
ties. Our captors immediately returned the fire, while we dodged
for protection behind the nearest rocks, but there was little
actual danger, as both sides were firing wild.

At about 10 o'clock in the morning we reached the top of
the mountain, on which was a crude fort with walls and rifle
rests all about. We climbed through an opening and fell in a
heap, completely exhausted and nearly famished. After resting
a few minutes we went through the available baggage brought
up by the bandits, and managed to find ,a few needed articles
of clothing. Someone would yell, "Hey, there, give me my
pants," and there would be an exchange, much to the amuse-
ment of the bandits. Several of the men sacrificed their pa jama
shirts for use as bandages for the bleeding feet and sprained
ankles of the women.

But the strangest scene of all was enacted when Made-
moiselle Schonberg caught up with her mistress and joyously
restored to her the family jewels. With great presence of mind
Miss Aldrich carefully inspected the surrounding terrain and
when the bandits looked the other way, she concealed the purse
under a large flat stone. Later she borrowed a pencil from a
bandit chief and made a rough sketch of the place where she

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 97

had concealed the purse. Carefully folding the little piece of
paper, she placed it in the toe of her shoe. Weeks later, after
the bandit affair had been liquidated, a Chinese clerk in the
Socony office in Tsinanfu went to the district, found the purse
and returned it intact to the owner.

While we were doctoring our scratches and bruises and try-
ing to make the women captives comfortable, the bandit chiefs
went to one side for a conference. These conferences, which
became increasingly frequent, led to the impression that while
the original wrecking of the train may have been carefully
planned, they were not so sure about their next move. They
were constantly sending men out to reconnoiter, and when
they returned there were further conferences. It was late after-
noon, and since we had had neither food nor drink since dinner
the preceding day, we were wondering about the next meal.
Just before dark there was a commotion at the gate, and some
men arrived bearing a basket and several earthenware jugs. The
basket was filled with fresh eggs which the bandits passed out,
one to each captive. Someone demonstrated how to eat a raw
egg by chipping a small hole in each end and then by holding
back the head it was possible to suck out the contents without
the loss of a precious drop. There was sufficient water in the
jugs for a good swallow around.

During the afternoon the firing had been resumed from the
direction of the railway, the bullets glancing off the rocks with
an angry zing. About 5 P.M. one of the chiefs arrived and asked
us to write a message to Generals Wo and Wu, commanders of
the district, warning them that all foreigners would be im-
mediately killed unless the firing ceased. We made a condition
that we would write only under a pledge that the women and
children be released. Since I was the only foreign newspaper-
man in this particular group, the passengers unanimously chose
me to write the letter. Larry Lehrbas, then a reporter on the
China Press, later well known foreign correspondent for the
Associated Press and still later a colonel on the staff of General
MacArthur, had been on the train but had hid under a seat and

98 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

managed to escape in the confusion. The chief at first insisted
that one of the foreigners carry the message down the mountain-
side but later changed his mind and handed the note to one of
his own followers, who tied a white rag to a pole which he held
over his shoulder and cautiously advanced through the gate.
After waving it a few minutes to attract attention, he descended
the hill. The firing soon stopped.

As darkness came on the bandits began packing their belong-
ings for a move and motioned for us to get ready. At this point
one of the women captives approached me rather hesitatingly
and said she wished to speak to me privately. She led me to one
side and pointing to one of the women captives who was partly
concealed behind two other women, asked me whether I would
request the bandits to make a search through the baggage to find
a dress. I then saw that the woman, or rather girl, as she wasn't
over eighteen, was attired only in a thin cotton shirt and black
tight-fitting sateen bloomers which came about half way down
to her knees. The girl was Signorina Pirelli, private secretary to
the Italian lawyer Musso. We then checked up on our personnel
and discovered that Musso had not arrived. Since he was quite
corpulent, weighing over 300 pounds, we decided he had ex-
perienced difficulty climbing the mountains. His secretary's lack
of suitable mountain-climbing attire also presented a problem.
However, the embarrassing situation was saved when someone
found a thin silk dressing gown in one of the bundles of looted
clothes carried by one of the bandits. Signorina Pirelli expressed
her gratitude in voluble Italian which no one understood, but
the import of which was taken for granted.

As night came on it suddenly greW cloudy and soon there
were blinding flashes of lightning followed by thunder which
reverberated through the mountains like heavy artillery. The
chief gave the order to march as the rain began to descend in
waves, a real mountain deluge that often made breathing diffi-
cult. Between flashes we stumbled down a precipitous path on
the opposite side of the mountain from that by which we had

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 99

ascended. We finally reached the valley and were led along
a stream which was swollen out of its banks by the flood. After
stumbling through the water and mud for several hours, we
approached the environs of a village. We could see the dark
walls and could hear what seemed like a dozen dogs barking at
once. Finally we were marched into a dark, rectangular com-
pound with a low mud wall surrounding the four sides and
some low buildings along one end. We were led to the open
doors of the buildings and told to go inside. The buildings were
stables, but the floors were dry and covered by kaoliang, a
species of sorghum carrying grain in the tassel at the top which
provides food for man and beast, and which takes the place of
rice in the northern provinces. The peasant farmers in North
China make flour of the kaoliang seeds, which they mix with
water and salt and bake in large thin cakes. They then roll these
cakes about a mixture of chopped meat and vegetables seasoned
with hot peppers, somewhat in the fashion of a Mexican tamale.
But there were none of these cakes available for us that night,
although each captive was provided with a bowl of hot weak
tea. Despite our wet clothes we dropped on the floor and went
to sleep immediately from complete exhaustion, not waking
until late afternoon.

The awakening was abrupt, and it was apparent the bandits
were in a hurry. As we got ready to start there was a commo-
tion in front of one of the buildings and we recognized our
Italian fellow-passenger, Signor Musso. He had fallen over an
embankment on the way up the mountains and had injured his
spine, making it necessary for the bandits to carry him on an
improvised litter made of poles and covered with straw.

As we were assembling we realized that all the women had
vanished, and a hurried search of the compound failed to locate
them. Inquiry of the bandits only brought the laconic reply,
with a shrug of the shoulder, "Mei-yao," meaning literally "no
have got." We were suddenly surprised to hear a feminine voice
emanating from what appeared to be a well dressed youth. It
was the bride of Ancera Verea, the Mexican businessman from

IOO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Guadalajara. Mrs. Verea said that the bandits who were looking
after the women had led them away the night before and had
tried to induce her to join them. She had refused to leave her
husband, and had been fortunate in finding a suit of men's cloth-
ing in one of the bundles of loot taken from the train. The
bandits had finally allowed her to remain with her husband.
We hoped that the women had been returned to the railroad
in accordance with the pledge the chief had given, but it was
some time later that we were reassured on this score. Our party
of captives was now reduced to about twenty.

2 A Sit-Down Strike

The next ten days were a nightmare of forced marches,
always at night, doubling and redoubling on narrow rocky trails
through the mountains, often only a few jumps ahead of pur-
suing soldiers. We crossed railway tracks twice, which puzzled
us for several days until we learned that the bandits had taken
us into an isolated area served by a branch line which ran to a
coal mine. The nearest station was known as Tsaochwang, but
we never saw it until we were released several weeks later.

The distance we walked in the first few days, usually at a
rapid pace, could only be guessed at, but we were sure it ex-
ceeded a hundred miles. Since we were constantly passing
donkeys grazing in the fields, we begged the bandits to permit
us to ride, but to no avail. One day after a particularly exhaust-
ing stretch I suggested to the other captives that we refuse to
move unless they provided us with donkeys. Since the bandit
chiefs were aware that I was the ringleader in the "sit-down"
strike, one of them approached me and drawing his revolver
threatened me with it. Knowing that we were valuable only as
live, not dead "guests," I laughed at the bandit and pulled my
shirt open in a gesture of bravado. The bandit did not shoot, but
he seized a heavy pole and struck me over the shoulders, causing
bruises which I carried for many days. But it was worth it,
as the bandits realized we were in earnest and provided donkeys

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS IOI

and ponies. Most of the donkeys had such sharp backs that
many of us decided that walking was preferable after all.

Signor Musso, the Italian, presented our chief problem, as
he had to be carried and required constant attention. The soles
of his feet were a mass of blisters resulting from stumbling
barefoot over stones on our first night's march up the dry ravine.
One day I saw a bandit with a safety razor in his parcel of loot.
I borrowed the blade and opened the blisters on Musso's feet,
thereby creating the impression among the outlaws that I was a
doctor. After we were established several days later in the
bandit lair the men constantly brought members of the gang
to me for treatment. Fortunately by that time we had received
some medical supplies, which had been sent in by the American
Red Cross, and I was able to comply with the request for medi-
cal attention. Once when I was applying iodine to a curious-
looking sore on a man's back, one of our interpreters, who was
a medical student, came up and after examining the man, pro-
nounced him a sufferer from leprosy. The crowd that had been
standing around watching me, cleared out in short order. I also
was alarmed until the student assured me it was not very con-
tagious.

Lack of food was our chief problem on the long march.
When we appealed to our captors, they would pat their own
empty stomachs and complain that they "didn't have anything
to eat either." One day they brought us some fresh meat which
they said was "young cow." Two of us stayed up and boiled
it all day and only by nightfall were we able to pull some of the
meat from the bones. However, the soup was tasteful and every-
body had a bowlful. Later, we were informed that our veal stew
was Shantung dog, a particularly tough type of mangy cur. A
missionary friend told me there was a superstition among the
peasants that anyone who ate Shantung dog became possessed of
the spirits which that particular dog had harbored, for a period
of seven years.

On another occasion our captors produced a supply of the
familiar Shantung "tamales," but these seemed to have a dif-

102 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ferent kind of filling. I fished out a piece and asked one of our
captors what it was. He walked to the side of the path, turned
over a large flat stone and catching one of the scampering insects
in his fingers carefully held it up for inspection. We recog-
nized It as a scorpion. The man explained that it was customary
for the peasants to cut off the stingers and then boil the bodies
in salt water, after which the shells were removed and a pal-
atable morsel left which somewhat resembled shrimps. Since I
had once been stung by a scorpion I decided to pass up tamales
until we reached a district where other forms of meat were
more plentiful.

We began to realize that the bandits were nearing their
destination. We passed over a high rocky divide and entered a
fertile valley about thirty miles long and about fifteen miles
wide. The valley gradually narrowed at the upper end to a
gorge with precipitous sides along which ran a narrow path.
At the head of the gorge was a "sugar-loaf" type of mountain,
five or six thousand feet high and flat at the top. About half way
up the mountain the incline was gradual, but the upper portion
was a solid rock with precipitous sides apparently impossible to
scale. There was a small village at the foot of the moun-
tain, built on both side^ of a mountain torrent that was fed
by a spring which gushed from the rocks higher up the
ravine.

We were guided up the narrow road for several hundred
feet. In many places it consisted of narrow stair-steps cut in
the solid rock. At last we came to a wooded glen and there we
found an ancient temple abandoned and in ruins. Only one or
two rooms were habitable, and apparently they had provided
shelter for the bandit gang. Back of the temple we discovered
several chambers of caves which had been hewn into the side
of the mountain, and apparently had served as storage places
for grain and other food and also, possibly, for loot. However,
the caves were empty when we arrived at the temple. It was
easy to see that the stronghold to which the bandits had brought

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS IO3

us was impregnable against attack. The only entrance was up
the narrow gorge or canyon, while the valley below was easily
defended, as it was entirely surrounded by mountains. One day
in rummaging about the place we found an ancient tablet con-
taining carved inscriptions apparently written by Buddhist
priests. One of our student captives translated the characters.
They told a story of banditry and interference with the work
of the priests for a period of several centuries, resulting in a
final decision to abandon the temple to the outlaws.

As the bandits marched us through the villages the entire
population turned out to see the spectacle of the captive for-
eigners, something never previously seen in China, with the
possible exception of the disturbed period of the Boxer Uprising
in North China in 1900. As we paraded through one village I
saw an attractive Chinese girl dressed in silks and wearing so
much jewelry that she had the appearance of a jewelry shop
window display figure. As the girl waved at us, I recognized
her as a former passenger on the ill-fated Blue Express. She had
become hysterical on the night of the attack and her screams
could be heard above the shouts and shots of the bandits. We
had wondered what had become of her.

After we had been in the camp for several days and were
allowed some freedom, I went down to the village with one of
our student interpreters and two escorts supplied by the chief
and made inquiry about the mystery of the Chinese girl she
was about sixteen years old. It developed that she was a "sing-
song" girl, or entertainer, who was being sent to the camp of
a well known northern general as a "present" from General Hu
Feng-lin, who was then military governor of the Shanghai dis-
trict. But she never reached her destination. One of our chiefs
took a fancy to her and annexed her to his own private en-
tourage. She seemed to be quite happy in her new surroundings
and anxious to display the jewelry the chief had given her,
most of which had been looted from the foreign passengers on
the train. I looked in vain, during the interview, for my class
ring.

104 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

3 Word from the Outside World

The bandit lair to which we had been taken was called
Mount Pao-tzu-ku. It was somewhat separated from the regular
Shantung Mountains and was about forty miles from the railway
station and coal mine of Tsaochwang, from which it was visible
on clear days.

Since we had been on the move continuously for practically
two weeks, we had no knowledge whatever of the tremendous
commotion which the kidnaping had stirred up in the outside
world. Our first news came to us in a most unusual but welcome
manner. It was a copy of the China Press, published at Shanghai,
and it was the wrapping of a parcel which contained something
even more welcome than the paper, namely, a well cured ham
from one of the half-wild pigs which roamed the wildest parts
of the Shantung countryside.

On the margin of the paper was a note stating that the parcel
was sent to us by an American missionary, the Rev. Carroll H.
Yerkes, who conducted a school under the jurisdiction of the
Presbyterian Mission in a district known as Yihsien, which was
a considerable distance from the place where we were held.
Later Mr. Yerkes informed us that he had learned of our where-
abouts from a Chinese petty officer who had been sent with a
small contingent of soldiers to Yihsien by the governor of the
province to protect the mission property and inmates from the
bandits. After he had notified the American consular authori-
ties, Mr. Yerkes induced a Chinese convert to carry the pared
through the bandit lines to our camp on Mount Pao-tzu-ku.
Several days later the same messenger arrived with another par-
cel, containing another ham, some coffee and a number of books.
I unwrapped the books and passed them out, one each, to all of
the captives. The books were copies of the New Testament.

Some days later, Leon Friedman, the motor car dealer from
Shanghai, looked up from perusal of his copy of the Holy Scrip-
tures and exclaimed, "What is a Jew supposed to do in these
circumstances? First we starve, and a missionary sends us a

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 105

ham; then when we want something to read he sends us the
New Testament!"

Before long, we had our first visitor from the outside world,
an elderly German Catholic missionary, the Rev. Father Lenf ers,
one of the few survivors of a band of missionaries sent to Shan-
tung from imperial Germany in the last quarter of the preceding
century. Several of these priests were killed by bandits, possibly *
predecessors of our captors, which provided Kaiser Wilhelm
with his excuse for seizing the port of Kiachow Bay on the
Shantung coast and demanding the right to build a railway into
the interior of the province. But the Kaiser's policy had not
helped missionary work; only a few of the German priests re-
mained. They wore Chinese clothes, spoke Chinese, and had
almost forgotten their native tongue. Our little band of captives,
foreigners and Chinese, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protes-
tants, welcomed Father Lenfers with open arms, for he not only
brought us news from the outside world, and valuable informa-
tion about the strength of the bandit gang, he also brought us
several bottles of excellent wine which he had made himself.

According to the news brought us by Father Lenfers and
the newspapers sent us by Mr. Yerkes, the foreign Powers, led
by the United States and Great Britain, had made a strong
demand on the Peking Government that steps be taken immedi-
ately to effect the rescue of the foreign captives. Only Japan
held off and remained cold to all proposals to bring pressure to
bear on the Chinese authorities. Tokyo officialdom shrugged its
collective shoulder and called attention to the fact that no Japa-
nese were held captive by the bandit gang. When as a result
of dilly-dallying on the part of provincial and central govern-
ment authorities, it was suggested that the United States, Great
Britain, France, and Italy stage a naval demonstration at Tsing-
tao and Pukow, the nearest Chinese ports to the scene of the
bandit escapade, Tokyo spokesmen called attention to the
"unseemly attitude of the Powers in view of their recent action
at the Washington Arms Limitation Conference in forcing
Japan to evacuate the province." The Japanese also let it be

106 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

known that the bandit incident might never have occurred had
Japan been permitted to remain in the province "to maintain
order."

Of greatest personal interest to myself, I learned from the
copies of the China Press which we received that two accounts
of the wrecking of the train and the highlights of our ensuing
captivity, which I had secretly written on scraps of waste paper
during our long trek through the mountains, had finally reached
the outside world and had been printed in my paper, the China
Weekly Review, at Shanghai, and had also been cabled abroad.
After writing the accounts, I wrote the name and address of the
American Consul at Tsinanfu, the provincial capital, on the
back of the folded sheaf of pages and one day when the bandits
were not watching I handed the papers to a villager as we were
being marched through a town. The manuscript was delivered
to the Consul and my account, "written from the inside," got
out without undue delay. It was so miraculous that many people
wouldn't believe it and insisted that the story was faked. Even
some of my friends did not believe the story was genuine until
I was released and confirmed the details of what I had written.

The American Minister to China at this time was Dr. Jacob
Gould Schurman, former president of Cornell University, prob-
ably the most intelligent and effective diplomatic representative
sent to China by the United States in the disturbed period of a
quarter of a century following the close of World War I. As
soon as he received word of the bandit affair, Dr. Schurman
called the attention of the Peking authorities to the seriousness
of the incident, and warned them to take all possible steps to
assure the safety of the captives and obtain their early release.
Dr. Schurman then went to Paoting, where he conferred directly
with the militarist General Tsao Kun, following which he re-
peated his warnings to the Chinese officials at Tsinan, Nanking
and Shanghai.

But of more importance, from the standpoint of the actual

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 107

safety and welfare of the captives, Dr. Schurman arranged with
the American Red Cross to send a mission to Tsaochwang with
supplies of food and clothing. In addition, he arranged with
the diplomatic representatives of Great Britain, France, and
Italy to send consular representatives to establish direct contact
with the Shantung provincial authorities and even with the
bandit chiefs, if possible, so as to facilitate negotiations for the
release of the captives. The American consular representative
was John K. Davis, stationed at Nanking, while the representa-
tive of the American Red Cross was Carl Crow, well known
journalist and former managing editor of the China Press of
Shanghai.

Another well known American who participated In the
parlous negotiations was Roy Anderson, son of missionary par-
ents, who was born in China and probably had a better knowl-
edge of the Chinese language and a wider acquaintance with
China's officialdom than any other foreigner in China at the
time. Anderson was assisted by S. T. Wen, the Chinese Com-
missioner of Foreign Affairs at Nanking. Both entered the
bandit lines at great personal risk and initiated negotiations
which led to the bandits granting permission for food to be sent
to the foreign prisoners.

4 Red Cross to the Rescue

One day we saw in the distance across the valley a long
caravan of carrier coolies approaching our stronghold. After a
wait of what seemed to be hours the head of the caravan ap-
peared at the gate of the temple courtyard. The sweating coolies
were carrying several large boxes, each bearing the insignia of
the Red Cross. We tore into the boxes in short order. They were
filled with food bread, cans of bully-beef, vegetables and fruit,
and even several boxes of California raisins.

The- leader had a letter explaining that the American Red
Cross had negotiated a deal with the bandit leaders whereby

IO8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

they agreed to permit food to be sent through their lines to the
captives, provided the Red Cross would at the same rime send
along a large supply of rice and flour for the bandits. Carl Crow,
director of the Red Cross expedition, asked us to check up on
the supplies to see that the bandits had observed the agreement.
We found nothing missing, although the coolies had carried
the cases for practically forty miles through the outlaws'
country.

That night we staged a never-to-be-forgotten banquet, with
an invocation by Major Finger, one of the captive American
army officers, and speeches by everybody present. Sounds of
festivity also reached us from the adjoining courtyard, where
our captors and the Chinese prisoners were celebrating the
arrival of the first real food they had eaten in about three weeks.
Everybody wrote letters to be taken back by the caravan the
following morning.

A later caravan brought us folding camp cots and mosquito
nets, contributed by the United States Fifteenth Infantry Regi-
ment then stationed at Tientsin. Our sojourn as guests of the
bandits began to take on the character of an outing in the
mountains except for the presence of our ragamuffin "hosts."
The arrival of food greatly improved our relations, at least with
those of our captors who were in our immediate vicinity. We
learned that the reports of the success of the bandits in obtain-
ing supplies of food had spread through the mountains and in
consequence the bandit gang had swelled from the original
thousand to more than three thousand, most of the new arrivals
being deserters from nearby provincial armies. We also learned
that the force the Government had sent against the bandits
numbered about eight thousand, but they were more or less
powerless due to the constant threat of the bandit leaders to
execute the captives in case they were pressed too hard.

One minor chief, an ill-natured rascal, known as "Bo-bo"
Liu, who had had trouble with the Germans at Tsingtao, con-
stantly argued in favor of killing one or two of the captives

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 109

in order to speed up the negotiations. These reports and other
gossip constantly seeped in to us through our student interpret-
ers, who hobnobbed with the bandits and passed the informa-
tion on to us.

Father Lenfers, the German Catholic priest, returned to our
camp one day and motioning me to one side told me a story
that made my flesh creep. He said that he had been told by a
member of the gentry who lived in one of the railway towns
that a particular group among the bandits concerned itself with
the kidnaping of children, and that the gang was holding a
number of children for ransom in a hut on top of the mountain,
the precipitous sides of which towered over our temple. Father
Lenfers suggested that we investigate.

Early the next morning I asked one of the chiefs to provide
me and Father Lenfers with an escort, as we wished to take
a walk around the side of the mountain. No one was permitted
to leave the temple compound without two guards. The Catho-
lic priest, more familiar with the habits of soldiers and bandits,
told me to fill an army canteen with some of the brandy he had
brought us. I followed his advice, and after climbing briskly
for about an hour we reached the base of the cliff, which rose
almost perpendicularly to the summit, a distance of perhaps
five hundred feet.

Hot and out of breath from the climb, we sat down on a
flat rock in the sun to rest. With a wink at Father Lenfers, I
handed our captor-guides the canteen containing a full quart
of home-brewed brandy. The two worthies gulped it down like
so much milk, and within a few minutes both were stretched
out on the rock sound asleep. Father Lenfers and I then set out
along the narrow path that led around the base of the cliff. Our
search was soon rewarded: we came to a crevice or gigantic
split in the face of the cliff, as though a thin slice had been cut
off an enormous cake, which the upper part of Mount Pao-tzu-ku
resembled. There we discovered the way to the top a crude

110 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ladder made of hand-holds chiseled in the granite. There were
small platforms or landings at intervals of about fifty feet up
to* a point where the ascent became more gradual and a steep
stairway, also cut in the rock, led to the top.

Glancing back toward our guards, who were still sprawled
on the rock, with their mouths open, snoring loudly, we de-
cided to attempt the ascent. I led the way, with the venerable
Father following a few rungs behind with his robe tucked up
under his belt to give him freedom of movement. After we
had reached the second landing, about one hundred feet up,
Father Lenf ers put his hand to his heart and sat down. He could
go no further.

I told him to return to the base and watch the guards, while
I climbed on up to the top. Knowing that I did not have much
time, I hurried, and finally reached the top. Like the mountain
top where we had first been taken, this also had been converted
into a fort, but more effort had gone into the work here. There
were several huts covered with thatch, well weighted down
with rocks. There were several large wells or tanks cut in the
stone to catch the rain-water, while other tanks were filled with
grain and fuel. The bandits could hold out here almost indefi-
nitely. I remembered the inscription on the tablet at the temple
a bandit stronghold for six centuries!

While exploring the mountain top, which was three or four
acres in extent and nearly flat, I heard voices coming from one
of the shacks. Pulling the straw-matting curtain aside, I realized
with a shock that the story which had been told to Father
Lenfers was correct. The room was filled with children, little
boys ranging in age from eight to fifteen years. As they crowded
about me I saw them glance apprehensively over their shoulders
toward a door at the other end of the room. Almost immediately
there emerged a bandit carrying a rifle, which he immediately
swung off his shoulder as he saw me. Since I was unarmed, all
I could do was smile and greet him with a friendly gesture. He
understood the gesture, for I was holding out toward him a

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS III

package of cigarettes. After hesitating a moment he also smiled,
and reached for the cigarettes. I rapidly counted the children;
there were twenty-three, and most of them were in rags, rem-
nants of silken costumes indicating they had been kidnaped
from better-class homes.

After making a mental note of the situation, I indicated
my intention of departing, and handed the bandit another
package of cigarettes. He made no attempt to hinder my de-
parture, and I hurriedly descended the steep stairway and ladder
and rejoined Father Lenfers, who was sitting on the rock watch-
ing the still sleeping bandits. I told him of my discovery, and
after awakening our captors we hurried back to the temple.
I kept quiet about my discovery, but wrote a description of
what I had seen which I gave the priest to take out and send
to my office in Shanghai. Its publication created a tremendous
sensation throughout China, and when the bandit incident was
finally settled the children were taken down the mountain and
to the town of Yihsien, where they were temporarily placed
under the care of Reverend Yerkes's mission. Later they were
turned over to the civil governor, who managed to restore some
of them to their parents. In many cases, however, it was im-
possible to find the parents, probably due to the fact that the
children had been abducted in places far distant from the bandit
hideout. Those whose parents could not be found were placed
in an orphanage managed by one of the missions. We were told
afterward that it was customary in cases where parents of ab-
ducted children were unable to raise sufficient money to
redeem them for the bandit chiefs to adopt the boys as their
own sons and bring them up in the ways of their foster
fathers.

The disclosures concerning the kidnaping phase of the
bandit industry served further to discredit the whole situation
of military politics and anarchy which had prevailed in North
China for so many years, and paved the way for the ultimate
overthrow of the provincial Tuchuns and the establishment of
more orderly government.

112 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

5 A Mission of Peace

Time dragged slowly in the bandit camp, and our impatience
mounted at the apparent inactivity of our would-be rescuers
at the railway station. We could not understand why four
powerful governments couldn't outsmart a gang of Shantung
bandits. However, we knew in our hearts that our bravado was
assumed, for we were well aware that the real reason for the
delay in our release was fear on the part of our friends as well
as the Chinese officials that they would provoke the bandits to
retaliation against us.

Some days later, when another consignment of food ar-
rived, I was digging into a parcel of raisins marked with my
name when I found a note written on thin paper, carefully
folded and secreted in the center of the box. The note came
from an American army officer, stationed at the United States
Legation at Peking, who had been sent to Tsaochwang to in-
vestigate the matter of speeding up our release. The officer's
note said that negotiations between the bandit chiefs and the
provincial authorities were deadlocked because of the un-
reasonable demands which the bandits had made. The bandits
practically insisted on the abdication of the top provincial
officials and the substitution of themselves as rulers of the
province and controllers of the main trunk-line railway which
ran through Shantung. I remembered the demands of the Shan-
tung bandits at a later date when the Chinese Communist faction
made its demands for the abdication of high government officials
in World War II.

In view of mounting indignation at the delay in releasing
the captives, the officer asked me to sound out the other captives
regarding a daring rescue scheme which had been proposed.
According to the plan which he unfolded, the rescue party at
the coal mine would secretly bring to the nearest railway station
a contingent of about fifty United States soldiers and marines.
They would be brought from Peking and Tientsin in small
groups, attired in plain clothes so as not to attract attention.

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS II}

But first the carrier coolies who brought in our food would
smuggle in to us, concealed in boxes of raisins, a number of
revolvers and a supply of ammunition. When all was in readi-
ness on a designated day, of which we would be notified in
advance, we would proceed to one of the caves in the cliff
back of our temple, barricade the entrance, and prepare to stand
off the bandits until our rescuers could make the forty-mile
raid through the mountains and effect our release.

That night, after our guards had gone away, I called the
captives together and put the proposition to them. I voiced my
approval of the scheme, and was supported by the two Ameri-
can army officers, Major Robert Allen and Major Roland
Finger, and also by two of the British prisoners. The Mexican
Verea and his wife also approved, but most of the others ob-
jected, particularly the Italian lawyer Musso, who was unable
to walk. Some doubted the ability of such a small force of Ameri-
can servicemen to penetrate the bandit lines and fight their
way through if the bandits put up resistance. We all realized
what would happen to us if the scheme failed.

I shall never forget the looks on the faces of our little band
when I disclosed the daring plan of the American army officer.
Extreme danger and the hardships through which we had passed
caused a bond of fellowship to develop among the captives
which broke down racial, religious, and nationalistic barriers.
This was evident that night in the little temple on the side of
Mount Pao-tzu-ku as we huddled in the dim candle-light and
discussed a plan which meant life or death to every man present.
The unexpected element in the situation was that the Chinese
students who had been with us from the beginning, serving as
interpreters and in innumerable other ways, were also willing to
go the whole way if the rescue scheme were attempted. I wrote
a guarded report on the reactions of our party to the proposal,
and it was smuggled back to the rescue party, but we heard
nothing further regarding the scheme.

However, our discussion that night developed an idea which

114 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ultimately resulted In our release. Someone suggested that we call
the chiefs together and try to discover what they really wanted.
The next morning we acted on the suggestion, and a committee
was appointed to visit the village where the chieftains had
their headquarters and invite them to come to our temple that
night. Six of them showed up, all but the No. i leader, Sven
Mao-yao, but he sent his representative. In the meantime the
captives held a preliminary meeting and elected officers. I was
given the job of secretary and possessed myself of a blank book,
apparently somebody's address book which a bandit had picked
up on the train. The possession of this book in which I fre-
quently made notes gave me considerable prestige with our
bandit "hosts."

When the chiefs arrived that night, each with a bodyguard,
we invited them into our quarters and served them tea from
our stock of provisions. We then told the leaders that we under-
stood their situation and wanted to help them settle the incident
so we could get back to our families. "But we can't do any-
thing to help you until we know your terms," we explained.
The serious faces of the bandit chiefs and the equally serious
bearded faces of the captives, in the dim flickering candle-light
of the temple chamber, made another unforgettable picture.

"Just what did the bandits want?" I made copious notes in
my book and turned to the first chief. After some hesitation he
began to talk, and I wrote down his statement as the interpreter
translated. Turning to the next chief I repeated the question,
and so on until my book was nearly filled. I kept that little book
for several years, because it constituted an invaluable sidelight
on the political chaos which had prevailed so long in the
northern provinces, particularly in Shantung.

After I had taken down the last demand of the last chief it
was suggested that each side, that is, the captives and the chiefs,
should appoint a representative to proceed to the railway station
where the rescue party and the provincial officials were sta-
tioned. The chiefs agreed, and said they would have their man
and two horses at our temple early the next morning.

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 115

The party broke up about midnight and everybody felt
relieved, believing that something would come of our attempt
to negotiate ourselves out of our captivity, which was now
in its fourth week. The captives selected me to accompany
the bandit representative on the fateful trip. I slept little that
night; and I think my experience must have been general, for
everybody was up at sunrise. The news had spread through the
whole camp and our courtyard was filled with captives and
captors waiting for the arrival of the bandit emissary with the
horses. As our equerry entered the compound, I noticed that
our "horses" had turned out to be Shantung mules, whose back-
bones were even more razorlike than those of the donkeys we
had ridden previously.

Traditional ceremony was observed. The No. i Chief lined
up all the captives in a row. Then he ordered his followers to
form a guard of honor leading from the door of the temple
to the gate of the compound. Approaching me, the chief pre-
sented me with a sealed envelope containing an address in
Chinese. The name was that of the chief representative of the
provincial governor, known as the "Pang-ban." After he had
given me the letter he drew his revolver, and walking down
the long row of foreign captives, he pressed the muzzle of the
gun against each man's chest. In this manner he indicated that
one or possibly all of the captives would be killed if I failed to
carry out the mission or possibly should attempt to double-
cross the bandits by causing their emissary to be held by the
provincial officials. As I mounted my mule and we started out
on the forty-mile ride, the chief broke the tension by clap-
ping his hands and cheering. Everybody followed suit so
enthusiastically that our mules bolted down the hill at a
gallop.

When we reached the village at the foot of the mountain
the entire population was waiting, and we were again cheered
on our way. As we reached the outskirts of the village I heard
someone galloping after us. It was a Chinese youth about fifteen
years old, riding a pony. He was well dressed and indicated

Il6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

he wanted to accompany us. The bandit emissary smiled and
gave his assent, and we were off on the fateful journey.

6 Formal Negotiations

We rode all day, only stopping a few minutes in the little
mountain villages for a drink of tea. We finally reached the
outer edge of the bandit zone, waved good-bye to the last bandit
sentry, and entered "no-man's-land" a stretch about a mile
wide between the outposts of the opposing sides. Anything
could happen here, but nothing did, and we reached the gov-
ernment outpost without incident. After examining our letters,
the officer in charge permitted us to proceed. We were still
a considerable way from our destination when darkness fell.
Noticing that my companions were inclined to hang back as
we neared our destination, I insisted they ride ahead of me as
we approached the walled compound wherein was located
the coal mine pit head, with power plant and quarters for the
engineers and staff. The railway station and yards were also
within the walled compound. The wall was of thick stone con-
struction, with towers at intervals, and in each tower was a
sentry with a machine gun. There was one of these towers
on each side of the heavy sheet-steel gate. The stoutly fortified
mine compound gave an indication of the disturbed situation of
the countryside.

When we were still a considerable distance from the gate
a sentry shouted an order, and suddenly the roadway facing
us was illuminated as light as day. I recognized the rays as
coming from a powerful searchlight mounted on one of the
towers, but not so my precious companions, who suddenly
turned their mounts off the road and dashed across the field.
Realizing the predicament my fellow captives and I would be
in if I lost them, I spurred my mule to a gallop and dashed
after them. The gateman helped me by keeping them spotted
with his searchlight. After exhausting my limited supply of

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 1 1 7

Chinese expletives, I succeeded in overtaking the bandits and
finally got them headed back toward the gate.

When at last I heard the heavy steel gate clang shut with my
bandit emissaries inside, I heaved a sigh of relief and nearly fell
off my mule from sheer weakness. I felt that the most serious
obstacle to our release had been overcome.

A soldier took us to the railway coach where John K. Davis,
the American Consul, and the British, French, and Italian Con-
suls and military representatives had their temporary offices and
sleeping compartments. There was great excitement when we
arrived, and enormous curiosity regarding the two bandits I
had brought with me. Soon Roy Anderson and Carl Crow
greeted me, and also another personal friend and former class-
mate at Missouri University', Roy Bennett. Bennett had been
passing through Shanghai on his way to Manila to accept a
position on the Manila Bulletin when the bandit incident oc-
curred. He immediately wired Carson Taylor, publisher of the
Bulletin, for permission to remain over, and went to work on
my paper, The China Weekly Review, in Shanghai in my
absence.

I wish I could have been of equal assistance to Bennett when
he was confined by the Japanese in an old Spanish prison at
Manila for almost three years because of his refusal to col-
laborate with the invaders following Pearl Harbor.

I explained to the American and British Consuls my sudden
and strange appearance and introduced my bandit companions,
who were now my guests. It was decided to take them at once
to the Pang-ban or Governor's representative, whose head-
quarters was in another car. We were taken to him by Mr.
Davis and formally introduced. The Pang-ban received the
bandit emissary with all the formality of a high government
dignitary, and they were shortly in deep conversation. I soon
slipped away and joined my friends in the official car, where I
was served my first real meal in more than a month. There was

Il8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

so much to talk about that it was past midnight before we
noticed the passage of time. Before retiring I was taken to the
mine manager's house where I took a bath, also the first in a
month, and changed into a complete outfit of clean clothes
which Bennett had thoughtfully brought with him from
Shanghai.

When I was shown my sleeping compartment in the official
car, I was surprised to find Wang, the chief's son, waiting for
me. He had been provided with a sumptuous supper and had
eaten so much cake and candy that he appeared on the point
of exploding. He spurned a sleeping berth and insisted on sleep-
ing on the floor of the corridor next to my compartment.

The next morning there was a conference participated in by
Mr. Davis, the Pang-ban, Roy Anderson and myself. The
Pang-ban explained that he was ready to negotiate with the
bandit leaders, and suggested a village midway between the
two camps. He suggested that each side be represented by an
equal number of principals and guards, and recommended that
Roy Anderson and I also attend as witnesses in order to guaran-
tee the good faith of both sides. After the Pang-ban had written
out his proposals he carefully folded the paper, sealed it in an
envelope and handed the original to the bandit emissary and a
copy to me.

I went back to the mine manager's house to change back
into my old clothes, and was astonished to find my friend
Bennett preparing to accompany me, as I thought, back to the
bandit roost. I was mistaken; Roy had decided to return in my
place, and insisted that I agree. He said that he had talked the
matter over with my family, and all had agreed that he should
enter the bandit camp as my substitute. It required considerable
argument to convince Bennett that despite the anxiety it would
cause my family it was necessary for me to return, otherwise
the bandit chiefs would regard it as a breach of faith. Bennett
finally was convinced that I was determined to return to the
bandit stronghold, but he was sure that I would never get out
again alive. There were tears in his eyes as I and my two bandit

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS lip

companions rode out through the iron gate on our long trip
back into the mountains.

We rode steadily, only stopping briefly in the villages to
drink tea and eat the sandwiches we had brought with us. After
we had passed through no-man's-land and were back in bandit
territory the bandit youth rode up alongside me and laughingly
pulling up his jacket he showed me a large army revolver in a
holster strapped to his body under his shirt. I was startled at
the discovery and was never able to unravel the mystery. Was
he provided with the gun by his father in order to kill me in
the event I double-crossed him and the bandit emissary? Or had
a secret friend of the bandit chief in the Governor's camp pro-
vided the boy with a revolver as a present to his father? I
puzzled over the circumstance for several days, and was never
able to find an answer.

It was nearly midnight before we reached the bandit head-
quarters at Mount Pao-tzu-ku. There was great rejoicing at my
report of developments and all now felt sure of our early release.
The next day the bandit leaders visited our camp and congratu-
lated me on the success of my trip. They said they had agreed
to the Pang-ban's suggestion for a conference, and as soon as
arrangements could be made they wanted me to take their
answer back to Tsaochwang. I rubbed the bruised part of my
anatomy which had come in contact with the donkey's razor-
like back and thought of that forty-mile ride back to the station.
Luckily (from the standpoint of my bruises) the bandits waited
a couple of days before they gave the word for my return.

My return to the station, again accompanied by a repre-
sentative of the outlaws, was uneventful, but my ride back to
the bandit camp this time was an event long to be remembered.
This time I was accompanied by Roy Anderson, the official
"go-between," and what appeared to be a considerable portion
of the Chinese army, including several heavily laden carts, each
pulled by a half dozen ponies and mules. I learned that these
carts contained a large quantity of silver for the bandit leaders

I2O MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

and several thousand army uniforms for the rank and file of the
bandit gang, which was being taken into the Shantung provin-
cial army. This had been the chief demand, concurred in by
all of the leaders, which I had noted in my little book during
the conference at the temple. I wondered how many of the
other demands the provincial governor had been compelled
to agree to as a result of pressure by the central government
as well as the Powers, in order to get us out of the clutches of
the outlaws.

7 Release and Reparations

The full extent and significance of the bandits' demands
were not fully realized until the "peace conference" between
the outlaws and the Government's representatives got under
way. Never was a stranger or more dramatic conference held.
In the little temple on the side of the mountain, visible from
the village where the conference was held, sat the little band
of captives whose lives hung in the balance as the talks seemed
to sway from one side to the other. Most disconcerting to
Anderson and me were the frequent "off-side" sessions of little
groups, usually held in secret behind the rambling one-story
building where the meeting was held. We never could tell
whether they were walking out entirely, and we always heaved
a sigh of relief when they returned. Each chieftain wanted a
large sum of money "in real silver," some of the demands run-
ning as high as a million dollars. But this was not to be regarded
as sordid ransom; it was "back pay" for the rank and file,
practically all of whom at one time or another had been con-
nected with some provincial army. Each chief naturally de-
manded that all of his followers be taken into the army and
provided with new uniforms. Also there were demands for
enormous quantities of rice and flour, the amounts being speci-
fied in tens of thousands of piculs, the Chinese unit, equivalent
to 133 pounds avoirdupois.

The most significant demand, constituting evidence of po-

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 121

lineal and possibly foreign intrigue, was that the so-called
bandit area, embracing a section of several hundred square
miles and including portions of the three provinces, Kiangsu,
Shantung, and Anhwei, be "neutralized" under some form of
international guarantee by the foreign Powers. The area which
the bandit leaders specified included the important railway
junction point of Hsuchowfu where the north-south Tientsin-
Nanking line crossed the east-west Lung-Hai line. The bandits
insisted that their force, now expanded to possibly a division,
be stationed inside the "neutralized" area. The demands in-
cluded specific conditions regarding collection and apportion-
ment of taxation, exploitation of coal mines and other minerals,
and development of communications. It seemed to me that the
bandits must have had outside assistance in working out the
plan which appeared to be beyond the capacity of a band of
mountain outlaws.

The inspiration behind this particular demand, aside from
the element of self-preservation, still remains a secret. Some
thought it was Japan's method of retaliation for the action
of the Powers at the Washington Arms Conference in forcing
Japan to restore Shantung to Chinese sovereignty. Others
thought the bandits were instigated by southern political in-
terests antagonistic to the Peking Government and hoped in
this manner to discredit their political enemies. Dr. Jacob Gould
Schurman, American Minister, told me several months after-
ward that he had never been able to get to the bottom of the
incident, and was surprised when the central government sud-
denly offered to refund the losses suffered by the passengers and
agreed to pay the captives an indemnity figured out on a per
diem basis for the time they were held in captivity.

There had been a time in the not too distant past when a
foreign Power or group of Powers might have taken advantage
of the bandit incident to establish control over Chinese territory.
Germany had seized the port of Tsingtao on the Shantung coast
twenty-three years earlier, in retaliation for the killing of three

122 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

German missionaries; Russia had seized Port Arthur on the Gulf
of Chihli (Po Hai) ; and Britain had established a training station
at Wei-hai-wei on the north side of the Shantung Peninsula. But
imperial Germany and imperial Russia were temporarily out of
the running, and the other Powers with interests in the Pacific
had adopted a new program, in their relations with each other
and with China, which had gone into effect at the Washington
Conference. All of the Powers, including Japan, had agreed to
abandon their old spheres of influence and concessions, and had
signed a treaty guaranteeing China against just such interference
in her domestic affairs as the bandits were inviting. It was cer-
tain that the bandits had not originated the foreign-concession
idea themselves; there must have been instigation from some
outside quarter, possibly for the purpose of testing out the
Powers as to their sincerity concerning the Nine-Power Treaty.

After eliminating the ridiculous, the conference finally set-
tled down to the familiar old-fashioned game of bluff and com-
promise so dear to the hearts of all true Sons of Han. The bandits'
demands for the release of the foreign captives finally narrowed
down to two points: Was the Government willing to take the en-
tire gang into the army and to hand over to the chieftain a suffi-
cient sum to pay the salaries of the "new army" for six months in
advance? The Government, under pressure by the Powers, was
willing, but it wanted the amount of money involved and the
number of bandits taken into the army held down to reasonable
proportions. The exact amount paid over and the number of
soldiers decided upon was never announced, but the debate was
long and acrimonious. The conference had a dramatic conclu-
sion when Sven Mao-yao, the youthful leader, held up his hand
and after proclaiming his loyalty to the Government, signed
the agreement. The other chiefs then walked up and signed,
following which the Government officials affixed their signa-
tures or seals to the document, which was then pushed across
the table for Anderson and me to sign as witnesses and guaran-
tors of the good faith of both participants.

One day six months later Anderson telephoned me and

INCIDENT OF THE BLUE EXPRESS 1 23

stated in great Indignation that he had just received word that
the Governor of Shantung had violated the agreement and
through some subterfuge had enticed the bandits away from
their guns and had massacred some sk hundred of them with
machine guns. Sven Mao-yao, the youthful chief, was also exe-
cuted. Most foreigners approved the action of the Shantung
Governor, but Roy Anderson, better versed in current Chinese
"checker-board" politics, predicted that the action of the Shan-
tung Governor would have tragic results in case other foreign-
ers were kidnaped by bandits or rebel troops in future a fore-
cast which was borne out by later developments when many
foreigners, chiefly missionaries, lost their lives when ransoms
were not immediately forthcoming. The missionaries were the
chief sufferers, because they generally refused to pay ransoms,
on the ground that such payments only incited further kidnap-
ing of mission workers.

As the foreign captives were aware of the negotiations
proceeding in the village in the valley, they spent many anxious
hours awaiting the conclusion. As the day drew to a close they
had practically given up hope when a messenger arrived with
a slip of paper ordering the release of the captives. "Thank
God," was the involuntary utterance, but there was still fur-
ther delay; the bandit leaders insisted on providing sedan chairs
for all members of the party so that they could depart in a
manner befitting foreign guests. We didn't actually get away
until after nightfall, and in consequence didn't reach the res-
cue party at the coal mine until long after midnight. When we
woke up the next morning our train was moving; the govern-
ment railways had provided us with a special running straight
through to Shanghai. When the train arrived the next day
Shanghai's entire foreign population, which had been demanding
strong punitive measures in reprisal for the bandit outrage,
turned out in such a crowd that they blocked the streets leading
to the railway station.

Just twenty years later following Pearl Harbor, when

124 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the Japanese seized the Shanghai International Settlement
an American and a Briton, who had been prisoners of the
Shantung bandits, found themselves confined in the same cell
in the notorious Japanese Bridge House concentration camp
at Shanghai. As the two ex-prisoners of the Shantung bandits
recognized each other they involuntarily stuck out their hands
in a hearty clasp and exclaimed in unison, "I prefer Chinese
bandits to these Jap scoundrels."
I was the American.

XII
Affairs In South

ALL DURING THE EARLY 1 920*8 I was following with particular
interest the situation which was developing in Southern China.
After various difficulties with reactionary military officials in
the southern province, Dr. Sun Yat-sen finally succeeded in
establishing himself as the legal and constitutional President of
China, having been elected by the reconstituted Parliament in
Canton on April 27, 1921. He formally assumed office on May 5
of that year.

The first foreign diplomatic contact by Dr. Sun Yat-sen's
new constitutional Government at Canton was with the Rus-
sian Soviets. China's contact with the Union of Socialist Soviet
Republics, however, began somewhat earlier, in Peking, when
the Russians, in 1919, offered to relinquish their extraterritorial
rights in China, including control of the Chinese Eastern Rail-
way in Manchuria. The Peking Government was suspicious of
the unexpected Russian generosity and did not respond to Mos-
cow's invitation to open negotiations. Acceptance of the invita-
tion would have implied recognition of the new Soviet regime.

In 1922 Moscow sent its official representative, M. Joffe, to
Shanghai to confer with Dr. Sun Yat-sen. I covered the confer-
ence, which was held in the Palace Hotel at Shanghai, with
Eugene Chen, a Trinidad-born Chinese, acting as Dr. Sun's
secretary and press representative. Joffe and Dr. Sun issued a
joint statement of friendship and pledge of mutual assistance
between the two countries, and also made preliminary arrange-
ments for Soviet assistance to the new Chinese Administration
at Canton in the form of a loan and the dispatch of Soviet
representatives to serve as advisers to the Canton Government.

"5

126 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

China agreed to send a delegation of students to Moscow for
training in Bolshevist revolutionary tactics.

The Sino-Soviet agreement contained an interesting provi-
sion whereby the Soviet Union agreed to help the Chinese
establish a national oil monopoly which would make it pos-
sible for China to become independent of the Anglo-American
oil trusts, represented by the Standard Oil Company, the
Vacuum Oil Company, Texas Company, and Asiatic Petro-
leum, a British subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. The Chinese
built large oil-storage facilities at Shanghai and elsewhere for
the handling of imports of Soviet oil. It later developed that
Moscow's real objective was to bring pressure on Anglo-
American oil interests in connection with dealings in Europe
and the Near East. After the Russians had made a satisfactory
deal with Standard Oil they grew cold to the China project,
and ultimately abandoned it and withdrew their staff from the
Far East. The large oil-storage depot which the Russians helped
the Chinese construct on the banks of the Whangpoo River at
Shanghai passed ultimately into the hands of the foreign oil
companies.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen's action in establishing contact with the
Russian Soviets in 1922 was followed by outright recognition
of the USSR by the Peking Government the following year.
The negotiations at Peking were conducted by Dr. C. T. Wang
and Dr. V. K. Wellington Koo, two Chinese diplomats whb
were just coming into prominence. The Soviet representative
was L. M. Karakhan, an Armenian. The negotiations began in
1923, and a preliminary agreement was initialed by Dr. C. T.
Wang, but it aroused so much opposition that Dr. Wang was
forced to withdraw. The final agreement, whereby China
granted full diplomatic recognition to the USSR, was signed
by Dr. V. K. Wellington Koo, acting Premier of the Peking
Government in March, 1924.

But there was a notable difference in the texts of the Peking
and Canton agreements. Whereas the Peking Government's
recognition agreement contained a definite commitment on

AFFAIRS IN SOUTH CHINA 127

Russia's part not to propagate communistic doctrines in China,
the situation at Canton was the exact opposite in that the
propagation of communism was a chief Russian objective.

Among the considerable number of radical advisers who
joined the Canton Government were two outstanding Soviet
personages, Michael Borodin and General Galens (or Bliicher) .
M. Joffe, who negotiated the original alliance with Dr. Sun,
did not remain in China but returned to Moscow. It was gener-
ally known in China that the motivating influence in Moscow
behind the China adventure was Leon Trotsky, proponent of
world revolution. China was regarded as the most fertile field
for the initial experiment. These are generally known facts,
but it is not so widely known, particularly in the United States,
that Americans and Britons professing leftist or communist
faith, who flocked to China, exercised perhaps even greater
influence upon the course of events in China than did the
Russians.

In the first place, only two of the Russians, Borodin and
Karakhan, could speak English, the only common language
between the Russians and Chinese. While Borodin has been
listed as a Russian, he had lived in the United States for most
of his life and probably was an American citizen. His wife was
an American and their two sons, who attended the American
School in Shanghai, registered under the name of Grusenberg,
were born in Chicago. Borodin had emigrated to the United
States when a youth and attended Valparaiso University,
following which he taught school in Chicago and for several
years operated a Russian-language school in that city. He re-
turned to Russia after the 1917 revolution and was associated
with Trotsky, who sent him to China as the Soviet's chief
political emissary. From the inception of the Nationalist
Government at Canton, Borodin probably exercised more
influence in China than any other foreigner. He was in con-
stant conference with Dr. Sun and other Nationalist leaders,
and directed the propaganda activities of a horde of Chinese
students, some of whom had been trained in Moscow under

128 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Karl Radek, or in China under Chinese communist teachers,
who in turn had received their training in Russia.

The new socialist Government functioned with consider-
able efficiency and harmony as long as Dr. Sun remained at
the helm. The only discordant elements were Wang Ching-
wei and Hu Han-ming, whose squabbles and intrigues for power
were usually settled by Dr. Sun or by General Chiang Kai-
shek.

Chiang Kai-shek, whose activities were destined to affect
vitally China's future and the destiny of the entire Far East,
was a native of the central seaboard province of Chekiang.
His father, Chiang Soh-an, was a wine merchant in the small
village of Fenghua, about 150 miles southwest of the great port
and metropolis of Shanghai. The father died when Chiang was
only eight years old, but his mother, though of modest means,
managed to raise sufficient money to enable him to accompany
a class of some forty other Chekiang youths to the military
academy at Paotingf u, near Peking. Here young Chiang showed
such promise as a student of infantry tactics that the Manchu
Government sent him in 1907 to the Tokyo Military Academy
for advanced training. Although Chinese students were not
granted the facilities extended to native Japanese students,
Chiang made excellent progress not only in military science
but in Japanese language, history, and aifairs.

Of greater significance, however, greater even than his
academic accomplishments, was his contact with Dr. Sun Yat-
sen, then a political refugee in Japan. Chiang was only eighteen
years old when he entered the Tokyo academy, hence was
able not only to absorb ideas about Japan at this critical time
in the transformation of that country following its emergence
from feudalism, but also to absorb revolutionary ideas about
his own country. He was obviously impressed by the fact that
Japan had been able to humble giant Russia, whereas his own
country had been the victim of aggression by Russia and other
European Powers as well as by Japan.

Chiang remained in Japan for four years, and returned to

AFFAIRS IN SOUTH CHINA 129

his homeland just in time to participate in the first revolution,
in 1911. He recruited a brigade of troops and assisted Dr. Sun
Yat-sen and the local controller of the Lower Yangtze area,
Chen Chi-mei, in holding Shanghai against the Manchu forces.
Two years later he assisted Dr. Sun in the conflict with Yuan
Shih-kai, and when Dr. Sun was forced to retire to Nanking,
Chiang gave up military activities and became a broker in the
International Settlement at Shanghai. As a result of participa-
tion in a stock-exchange boom he reputedly acquired a consider-
able fortune, much of which he contributed to Dr. Sun's war
chest at Canton. In 1923 Chiang accepted an invitation to be-
come principal of the new Whampoa Military Academy, which
Dr. Sun had organized, with Russian assistance, for the pur-
pose of training officers to serve in the revolutionary army then
being recruited and organized.

Chiang won his* first military spurs when he rallied the
cadets from the Whampoa Academy and suppressed a revolt
against Dr. Sun which had been instigated by the Canton Volun-
teers, a sort of militia, which had been organized by Canton
merchants. Chiang also participated as commander of govern-
ment troops in fights against other military factions in the Can-
ton area which were opposed to Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Most of these
revolts were secretly organized by General Chen Chiung-ming,
who, although a professed member of the Kuomintang, was,
nevertheless, strongly opposed to Dr. Sun. When General Chen
engineered a coup against Dr. Sun and forced the Cantonese
leader to flee to Hong Kong, Chiang rallied revolutionary
forces which were friendly to the Government at Foochow,
and marched on Canton. Chen's forces were defeated on Janu-
ary 15, 1925, and he was forced to withdraw to Wuchow, a
strongly fortified city located several miles from Canton.

With his reputation as a military commander established,
General Chiang became the outstanding leader of government
troops and in two years eliminated all military opposition to
the new government in the southern provinces of Kwangtung,
Kiangsi, South Hunan, and part of Kweichow.

1JO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Dr. Sun Yat-sen, father of the revolution, who had devoted
forty years of his life to the cause of China's reconstruction,
was not destined to see the fruition of plans for a unified and
modernized China. He became seriously ill and fainted while
addressing a political gathering at Canton, and was taken to
Peking for treatment at the Rockefeller Institute. His ailment
was diagnosed as cancer, and he died on March 12, 1925. His
body was taken to a temple in the Western Hills near Peking,
where it remained under guard until it could be removed to
the new national capital at Nanking for official burial in a
specially constructed mausoleum on the slope of Purple Moun-
tain.

There was an undignified squabble between the Soviet Rus-
sian advisers, members of Dr. Sun's immediate family, and
Kuomintang leaders over the type of coffin in which Dr. Sun's
body was to be encased as well as the type of funeral and the
mausoleum in which the body was to rest permanently. The
Soviet advisers strongly urged the use of a glass coffin in which
the body could be kept on permanent exhibition, as had been
done with Lenin's body in Red Square, Moscow. They even
had a glass-and-copper casket sent to Peking from Moscow,
but it was found to be defective, so the body was finally placed
in a bronze coffin imported from the United States. The fu-
neral, which was held at Nanking, the new capital, followed
with few modifications traditional Chinese lines. The Govern-
ment constructed a new road, known as the "Chung-shan"
Highway, which extended from the banks of the Yangtze to
the new mausoleum constructed at great expense on Purple
Mountain. Although designed by a modern educated Chinese
architect, the mausoleum for China's great republican leader
does not differ fundamentally from the concept of the ancient
Ming tomb in the same vicinity.

Fierce struggles for power among his followers began even,
before his death on March 12, 1925, first between the Wang
Ching-wei and Hu Han-ming factions. Even more serious were
the later complications which developed between the right-

AFFAIRS IN SOUTH CHINA 13!

wing Kuomlntangists and the left-wing radical socialists and
the communists. Dr. Sun's last will and testament, which im-
plied close cooperation between China and Soviet Russia, was
supposedly written by Wang Ching-wei while Dr. Sun was on
his deathbed. There were allegations that the will was a forgery
perpetrated by Wang Ching-wei and the Russian adviser Mi-
chael Borodin, although the document contained Dr. Sun's
signature. Despite its detractors, however, the document stands
above the laws of the land among members of the party. It is
recited every morning by all Chinese students throughout the
length and breadth of the country, and is repeated in unison
at the weekly meetings of the chief government committee.
The full text of the will is as follows:

I have devoted myself to the revolutionary cause for about
forty years, with the sole object of securing liberty and equality
for China. From my personal experience gained during the last
forty years, I fully understand that if we are to attain our object
we must arouse the masses and also ask for the cooperation of
such nations as have been willing to treat us as their equals. At
present the revolution is still incomplete. All our comrades must
act in accordance with my declarations known as "Outline of Re-
constrution," the "Reconstruction Plan," the "Three People's Prin-
ciples," and also the declaration of the "First National Conference
of Kuomintang Delegates." They must continue the fight for
realization of our latest principles. Again the call of the People's
Conference and the abrogation of all unequal treaties must be
accomplished in the immediate future.

The Three People's Principles were (i) the Principle of
Nationalism, (2) the Principle of People's Rights, and (3) the
Principle of People's Livelihood. Under the first, Dr. Sun held
that nationality had developed through natural forces the
state, through force of arms; and that Western supremacy in
world affairs sprang not from a superior political philosophy
but from advancement in material civilization. Under the sec-
ond Principle he presented his ideals of applied democracy, and
under the third, industrial organization within the state and the
elevation of living standards of the people.

XIII
Factional Troubles of the 1920's

THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS, who were admitted to member-
ship in the Kuomintang on an equal basis as a result of a confer-
ence of delegates in Canton on January 20, 1924, had from
the first endeavored to exert pressure on the party. The first
indication of serious trouble between the Kuomintang and
Communist factions was given early in 1926.

Four young military officers, all graduates of the Whampoa
Academy, organized an anti-communist movement. The four
men, all destined to become prominent in the next few months
in the military drive to the Yangtze Valley, were Li Tsung-
jen, Li Chi-sheng, Chu Peh-teh and Ho Ying-chin. General
Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Central Military Academy, steered
clear of the Kuomintang-Communist controversy, but his trip
to Russia in 1924 caused him to be suspected of pro-Red lean-
ings. A record of his activities in Russia, however, indicated
that he had been cold to Soviet blandishments. As a result of
pressure by the four young military officers, General Chiang,
on March 24, 1926, issued a statement that he would follow
the teachings of Dr. Sun's Three Principles (see preceding
chapter), and would discontinue all connections with the
Communist wing.

General Chiang Kai-shek's disinclination to side with the
Communists was due to two factors: First, his birth and environ-
ment in industrialized, conservative Chekiang Province and his
association with the banking and commercial elements from
that province which dominated Shanghai business; second, the
advice of a fellow provincial, Chang Ching-kiang, an almost
mythical character who had become immensely wealthy in the

132

FACTIONAL TROUBLES OF THE 1920*8 133

silk and curio trade between China and France in the latter
years of the Ching Dynasty. (Many of the rare Chinese works
of art purchased by American millionaires came to this coun-
try by way of France.) Chang Ching-kiang, the curio dealer,
espoused the revolutionary cause and contributed large sums
to Dr. Sun's war chest. He participated in the conferences
preliminary to the formation of the Nanking Provisional
Government, but refused to accept office. Two years later he
again helped Dr. Sun in opposing Yuan Shih-kai's monarchist
plot, and as a result was proscribed, along with many others,
by the Yuan regime. Chang Ching-kiang fled to Paris, where
he opened a profitable curio and art store and also a popular
restaurant where Chinese foods, particularly soya-bean prod-
ucts, were sold. After the passing of Yuan Shih~kai, Chang
returned to Shanghai, where he further increased his fortune
in the stock and gold-bar exchanges. It was here that he be-
came acquainted with Chiang Kai-shek, and assisted him finan-
cially. In 1925 he went to Canton and became a member of the
Constitutional Government. He accompanied General Chiang
Kai-shek on the military advance to the Yangtze, and after
the split between the Kuomintang and Communist factions he
joined the Nanking Government. In his later years his health
failed, and it became necessary for him to travel about in a
wheel chair. But there was no impairment of his opposition to
the Communists.

Hu Han-ming, civilian leader of the right-wing Kuomintang
group, also opposed the Communists, but Wang Ching-wei, the
other civilian contender for the position held by the late leader
of the party, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, sided with the Reds and in com-
pany with a number of the Russian and American advisers of
the Canton Government departed for Hankow.

By the summer of 1926 the Nationalist army, under the
command of Chiang Kai-shek, started its northward advance
from Canton. As a result of the anti-imperialist propaganda
inspired by the Communist faction of the Kuomintang, foreign-
ers, particularly missionaries residing in the interior of the

134 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

country, were seriously affected by the Nationalist Revolution
which was sweeping northward. Mission schools, churches and
residences were looted and thousands of missionaries were
forced to flee to Shanghai.

But the most dramatic developments of the revolution took
place at Hankow, Nanking and Shanghai, where the smoulder-
ing hatred and intrigue for power between the Kuomintang
and the Communists broke out in furious internecine conflict.
General Chiang Kai-shek's charge that the Communists had sent
secret emissaries into the cities for the purpose of seizing con-
trol prior to the arrival of his troops, was borne out by develop-
ments at both Hankow and Shanghai. In both cities Communist
activity originally was directed at the control of student and
labor organizations.

Students of the Chinese Nationalist Revolution whose
sympathies have been on the side of the radical or communist
factions have purposely ignored the developments at Hankow
which tell the most significant story of the failure of Chinese
Communists, and their foreign advisers, to accomplish their
ambitious plan of seizing control of the Nationalist movement
and establishing communistic government in China. They blame
"foreign capitalist-imperialist influence," "new militarism" and
native "banker-landlord influence" for their lack of success, but
while these elements did contribute, there were other and more
fundamental causes.

Of the many causes for the failure of the Red regime at
Hankow not the least was the action of the leaders in preach-
ing class warfare and catering to radical student-labor groups
in a society which was predominantly agricultural and where
there had never been any classes, except the old educated or
"literati" group which was, theoretically at least, open to all
youths of ability who could pass the official examinations. After
the capture of the Wu-Han cities, which had been accomplished
largely by the military strategy of General Chiang Kai-shek, the

FACTIONAL TROUBLES OF THE 1920'$ 135

leftist Chinese leaders and their foreign advisers staged a veri-
table "Roman holiday" in celebration of their victory over
"capitalistic imperialism." There was a trial of two "war pris-
oners" staged in the Russian manner, the culprits being two
northern generals who were captured at Wuchang. Thousands
of laborers employed in the mines, factories, and processing
plants (Hankow is popularly known as the Pittsburgh of China)
ceased work, and led by radical elements spent the days and
nights in speechmaking, parades, and demonstrations. Streets
were filled with marching students and laborers carrying ban-
ners inscribed with slogans, "Down with Capitalists and Im-
perialists," "Support the World Revolution," "Workers of the
World, Unite," and similar sentiments. Thousands of young
peasants from Hunan Province, where an intense Red propa-
ganda had been conducted for a considerable period, flocked
into Hankow to join the festivities.

The industries of the Wu-Han area were forced to close
down: press-packing plants where native products were pre-
pared for foreign markets; manufacturing industries, including
cotton spinning and weaving mills; vegetable-oil pressing plants,
hundreds of small native-owned industries, the great Han Yeh
Ping coal and iron interests (controlled by Japan), large ciga-
rette factories owned by Britons and Americans, the shipping
industry operating large sea-going steamers on the lower Yang-
tze and smaller but more powerful steamers capable of nego-
tiating the rapids of the Upper Yangtze, and an enormous junk
trade operated by the Chinese on the great canal system and
lakes of central China. Thousands of workers, who had been
spending their days celebrating the revolution by holding pa-
rades and demonstrations, suddenly found themselves without
meal tickets.

Since the Government had catered to the radical elements
and encouraged the strikes, the student-labor groups naturally
turned to it for support. The Government thus found itself in
a vicious circle of its own making, and had to adopt the suici-

136 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

dal method of issuing floods of paper money in order |o pur-
chase rice for the hungry multitudes. Prices for food, particu-
larly rice, shot up to prohibitive heights.

In order to save the Government itself from retaliation by
the hungry crowds, propagandists attempted to turn the
revolutionary sentiment against the foreigners. More parades
were organized, with banners denouncing foreign imperialism,
and the British Concession was over-run. No attempt was made
to invade the Japanese Concession, which was bristling with
machine guns. The British Concession was guarded only by a
small naval contingent and a local volunteer corps and police
force. Unable to cope with the excited demonstrators who
stormed the borders of their Concession, and fearing a Debacle,
the British Consul-General, an Irishman named O'Malley, or-
dered the British population to withdraw to British ships in
the harbor which was accomplished without incident. Pos-
sessed of more political sagacity than most of his compatriots,
Consul-General O'Malley immediately entered into negotiations
with the radical Foreign Minister, Eugene Chen, and the out-
come was the sensational Chen-O'Malley Agreement whereby
Great Britain agreed to return the British Concession at Han-
kow to China. The official release from the Foreign Office in
London stated that the action "accorded with Britain's long-
existing intention to return her Concessions to Chinese con-
trol"

When the Chinese found themselves in possession of the
British Concession calmer counsels prevailed, the excitement
died down, and the paraders returned to their quarters.

Another element which had a calming effect on the situation
at Hankow was the receipt of alarming reports from Nanking,
some four hundred miles down the Yangtze, stating that Ameri-
can gunboats had been forced to fire on a mob of demonstra-
tors, including troops, which were attacking the American
community, with officials of the American Consulate and their
families. Suddenly realizing the seriousness of the complications

FACTIONAL TROUBLES OF THE I92O ? S 137

in which they had become involved, Foreign Minister Eugene
Chen sent a wire to the State Department disavowing respon-
sibility for the Nanking outrages but offering remuneration for
damages suffered by foreigners at the hands of Chinese radical
elements.

The Chen-O'Malley Agreement providing for the return of
the British Concession at Hankow to Chinese control, and the
official telegram from the radical Chinese regime at Hankow
to the State Department, marked the high point in the strange
career of Eugene Chen, who had figured prominently in Chi-
nese politics for a decade. Born in Trinidad, British West Indies,
of a Chinese father and a Trinidad woman, Chen was educated
as a British barrister in England and had been admitted to prac-
tice in Inner Temple, London. But the pull of his Chinese blood
was too strong, and he returned to China, along with thousands
of his compatriots from the Seven Seas, to participate in the
revolution. Having a fair classical education in English (he
could neither read nor speak Chinese), Chen naturally gravi-
tated into newspaper work and on occasion stirred the slug-
gish English communities in the Far East to white heat with
his editorials, filled with classical quotations from English litera-
ture. He edited radical papers in Shanghai and Peking, and
once when the Chinese authorities in Peking arrested him and
threatened him with execution, he remembered his British
nationality, through birth in Trinidad, and appealed to the
British Minister to save his life. Sir Jofot Jordan, the aged,
kindly, and influential British Minister, asked the Chinese
authorities to release Chen who, upon obtaining his liberty,
fled to the sanctuary of the International Settlement at Shang-
hai. Later, Chen went to Canton and joined Dr. Sun Yat-sen's
revolutionary Government and participated in the northern
advance as a member of the radical faction, becoming Foreign
Minister of the Hankow Government.

There was an illuminating incident in connection with the
British evacuation at Hankow which was prophetic of later

138 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

developments in British Far Eastern diplomacy. When the
British were evacuating their nationals from the Concession to
their ships in the harbor, the British Indian community, consist-
ing largely of Sikhs, was overlooked. After the white Britons
were safely aboard the ships someone thought about the Sikhs,
most of whom had been employed as policemen or guards and
watchmen by the various foreign and Chinese business houses
and manufacturing establishments. Some had become wealthy
as money lenders. One of the consular officials went ashore to
rescue the missing Sikhs, who had disappeared completely.
While returning to his ship the British consular official stopped
to observe a parade which had been organized by the students
to celebrate the taking over of the Concession. At the end of
the procession, also carrying banners denouncing foreign
imperialists, were the missing Sikhs. They had "gone over" to
the Chinese and Communist revolutionists.

The action of the little group of British Indians in joining
the Chinese revolutionists was prophetic of events to come:
events in 1941-42, when British Indian troops at Hong Kong,
in Malaya, and in Burma, and the Congress Party in India,
either refused to support Great Britain or adopted an attitude
of non-cooperation with respect to the war with Japan in the
Far East.

The acquisition of the British Concession at Hankow en-
hanced considerably the prestige of the radical branch of the
Kuomintang, but this could not be exchanged for the where-
withal to feed the hordes of unemployed laborers who had
been encouraged to strike and agitate against the imperialists
and capitalists. With adversity came treachery within the ranks
of the radical factions. Wang Ching-wei, who already had a
reputation for treachery, grew cold toward the radical Chinese
and Russian elements.

Mao Tse-tung, spokesman of the radical faction, attributed
the failure of the Red regime at Hankow to the weakness or
treachery of another Chinese leader, Chen Tu-hsiu, who al-
legedly compromised on fundamental policies concerning land

FACTIONAL TROUBLES OF THE Ipio's 139

redistribution. Mao was quoted in Edgar Snow's u Red Star
Over China" as charging the Russian adviser Borodin and a
British Indian radical named Roy, a delegate of the Comintern,
with joint responsibility with Chen Tu-hsiu, the party dictator,
for the collapse. According to Mao, Borodin, the official
representative of the Moscow Comintern, had ceased being
an "adviser" and had become a dictator of the Kuomintang
Party. Chen Tu-hsiu had concealed the real situation from
the party leaders, but Borodin's activities allegedly were ex-
posed by the Indian delegate Roy. This is said to have caused
the defection of Wang Ching-wei and the split in the Hankow
Left Wing Government which facilitated the victory of Chiang
Kai-shek and the Nanking faction over the Radical-Communist
branch.

Another unexpected element in the situation was that the
collapse of the radical Hankow Government had serious reper-
cussions in Moscow and contributed considerably to the col-
lapse of Trotsky and advocates of world revolution. Stalin and
his group seized upon the failure of the China adventure, which
had cost the Soviets large sums of money and great effort, to
discredit Trotsky and the whole group of advocates of "perma-
nent world revolution." Borodin returned by a tortuous over-
land trip to Moscow in disgrace and became editor of the
four-page English-language Moscow Daily News.

Sun Fo, son of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who participated in the
Hankow Government, but later withdrew, also confirmed
Mao's statements, particularly the reference to the "dictatorial
attitude of the Russians." Chen Kung-po, an American returned
student and graduate of Columbia University, New York, who
had specialized in economics and had served as secretary to
Wang Ching-wei, wrote a series of articles (published in the
China Weekly Review shortly after the collapse of the Hankow
Government) in which he analyzed the causes of the collapse
of the Hankow Red regime. He concluded by advocating a
system of state capitalism and state ownership of industries as
a means of surmounting the complications which develop when

140 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

privately owned industrial establishments suspend operations
and throw laborers back on the Government for support. Chen
argued that only through the development of state capitalism
could the Chinese Government hope to cope with powerful
foreign interests established in the country, which in times of
crisis usually are able to marshal the support of the large native
Chinese industrial and banking interests in opposition to socialis-
tic experiments. Chen Kung-po, formerly a political associate
of Wang Ching-wei, later became head of the Japanese puppet
Government at Nanking, following the death of Wang Ching-
wei in Tokyo in 1944. Chen Kung-po was the only Chinese
student, educated in the United States, who voluntarily joined
the Nanking puppet. No Chinese student of any American
university, to the writer's knowledge, ever joined the Chinese
Communist faction. Thousands of American returned students
are members of the Kuomintang.

XIV

Fighting In Shanghai

i Imperialism, "Nationalism, Communism

I HAD RECEIVED numerous intimations long before the National-
ist armies reached the Yangtze that all was not going well with
the Kuomintang-Communist partnership. The information I
had received was in the form of two confidential pamphlets
addressed by General Chiang Kai-shek to the party leaders,
in which he charged that the Communists were secretly plot-
ting to oust the Kuomintang and seize control of the party
organization and ultimately of the Government. But I was not
prepared for the tragic developments which followed the
Nationalist-Communist occupation of Hankow, Nanking, and
Shanghai.

American and other Occidental missionaries whose stations
were in the path of the advancing armies were the first to feel
the effect of the Communist hook-up. Every boat and train
brought hundreds of refugee mission workers, men, women
and children to Shanghai. In most cases they were forced to flee
from their homes, which were looted by the disorderly soldiers.
Mission churches and religious schools were particular objec-
tives of the Reds and were subjected to wholesale desecration.
The missionaries were attacked on two grounds imperialism
and the Christian religion.

I remember attending a press conference called by mission-
ary leaders, at which one man after another got up and told of
atrocities committed in his district by the political branch of
the army. I asked one of the speakers how he accounted for
the fact that the communist students and soldiers were able by
the use of intensive propaganda to counteract the accomplish-

141

142 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ments of Christian missionaries extending over a long period of
years. He replied, "It is always easier to destroy than to build,"
explaining that the widespread anti-imperialist and anti-religious
propaganda directed at the missionaries was so closely linked
with the question of nationalism and political reform that the
majority of Christian converts were unable to come to the
assistance of their foreign friends and benefactors. Any Chi-
nese who helped a foreign friend was labeled a "running-dog
of the imperialists."

Foreigners were aware of Soviet influence behind the Chi-
nese Communists, but few realized that the struggle taking place
in China was part of a similar life-and-death struggle which
was going on within Russia between Joseph Stalin and Leon
Trotsky, the two rival leaders in the Russian Communist Party
following the death of Lenin. The struggle involved the
fundamental objectives of the communist movement.

Lenin had declared, "China is seething it is our duty to
keep the pot boiling." But the attempt to communize China
was the work of the Leon Trotsky faction, which advocated
world revolution. Following failures in Germany, Austria, Hun-
gary, and England, the directors of the Thii|d International
decided to attempt the communization of China and the mil-
lions of Asia. Also behind the ideologies lurked the desire on
the part of the Russian Red leaders to even scores with the
American, British, and other European capitalist-imperialists
by attacking their loosely held colonial dependencies in
the Far East.

They argued that if they were successful in China it would
mean another communist state and a triumph for the Third
International, which had lost prestige as a result of the rebuffs
it had suffered in Europe. Also, there was the prospect that
such success would put a crimp in the rising political prestige
of Joseph Stalin, who was bitterly opposed to the world
revolutionary program of Comrade Trotsky. Stalin believed
in concentrating power in Russia itself. Finally there was the
prospect of blocking or suppressing thousands of Russian emi-

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 143

grees who had fled from Russia into Chinese territory after
the Red Revolution in 1917. All emigrees were anti-Red.

Reds from all points of the compass French, German,
American, British, Hindu, Turkish flocked to China to help
put over the revolution and, incidentally, participate in the
expenditure of the considerable sums which the Third Inter-
national had collected from the Russian peasants and the world's
working classes. Propagandists and political manipulators who
had walked to work or had ridden on street cars In their home
countries quickly discovered that new American motor cars
were a "necessary adjunct" to their activities in China. Shang-
hai dealers in American cars did a thriving business while the
Red boom lasted. But when Earl Browder, head of the Ameri-
can Communist Party, arrived at Shanghai he quickly put a
stop to the reckless spending. At an elaborate banquet given
in his honor in Shanghai, Browder refused to eat anything but
black-bread and water, which he said was the fare of the
starving Russian peasants who had put up the money for the
Chinese revolution. But Browder arrived on the scene too late;
the autocratic and dictatorial actions of certain of the Russian
advisers had already alienated the support of many of the
Kuomintang leaders.

I interviewed Browder on the subject of the communist
situation in China, and heard him denounce in emphatic terms
the political agents "who rode around in limousines and went
to banquets when the peasants and workers of Russia and China
were starving."

The intimate connection between the failure of the Rus-
sian communist experiment in China and the ultimate downfall
of Commissar Trotsky is revealed in a passage in Trotsky's
memoirs (Charles Scribner's Sons) wherein he charged that
the Chinese Communist Party had been "forced to 'join the
bourgeois Kuomintang and had been forbidden to create so-
viets, compelled to hold the agrarian revolution in check and
also to abstain from organizing the workers." Trotsky alleged
that Stalin supported the Kuomintang-Communist hook-up and

144 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

had defended General Chiang Kai-shek against attack. After
the bloody suppression of the Chinese Communists at Shanghai,
Trotsky said he had advised forbearance in the expectation that
the action would attract more supporters to the Red banner.
However, it did not work out in accordance with Trotsky's
expectations and, to quote his words, "After the defeat of the
German revolution, and the breakdown of the British general
strike, the new disaster in China only intensified the disappoint-
ment of the masses in the international revolution, and it was
this disappointment which served as the chief psychological
source of Stalin's policy of national reformism."

It was natural that developments at Nanking and Hankow
should arouse deep apprehension on the part of both Chinese
and foreigners at Shanghai, China's largest and most European-
ized city. It is one of the world's largest ports, and more in-
dustries are concentrated in the Shanghai district than in any
other area of equal size on the continent of East Asia. The city
then had a population of approximately 3,000,000, of which
some 75,000 or 80,000 were foreigners of almost every national-
ity and race. It was the Far Eastern headquarters for most of
the Protestant and Catholic mission establishments concerned
with the propagation of Christianity among the Chinese people.
As a result there was a larger investment of American capital
in the Shanghai district than anywhere else in Asia, with the
exception of the Philippines. British investments at Shanghai
were larger than the American investments, and were exceeded
only by British investments at Hong Kong.

Alarmist reports of events at Hankow which appeared in
the foreign press, particularly the leading British paper, the
North China Daily News, created a situation of near panic
among residents of the International Settlement and the French
Concession. A well known British journalist at Peking named
Putnam Weale made a trip to Hankow and wrote a series of
articles regarding the situation there which he entitled "Red
Wave on the Yangtse."

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 145

I attended a press conference called by the manager of a
leading British brokerage firm where it was explained that the
foreign chambers of commerce and other organizations had de-
cided to raise a large fund and initiate widespread counter-
propaganda against the Communists. The chairman of the
meeting asked the cooperation of the local press and suggested
that each of the papers publish a special supplement exposing
the communist menace. When he asked for comment on the
anti-communist program, I expressed the view that any at-
tempt to label the entire Nationalist movement as "Red" would
probably defeat the object of the promoters of the campaign
because it would antagonize all Chinese and tend to throw the
entire Nationalist movement into the arms of the Reds. I said
that the Nationalist movement in China long predated the ad-
vent of the Russian Communists, and since the objectives of the
two movements were antagonistic, the hook-up was not likely
to last overlong unless the Powers adopted a policy of outright
opposition.

I also expressed the belief that neither America nor Britain
would approve of any program which opposed the National-
ist movement, or any attempt to discredit it by labeling it
communistic. I therefore refused to cooperate in the campaign,
and left the meeting. The North China Daily News, senior
British paper in China, usually followed an austere, and on
occasion supercilious, course with regard to Chinese politics;
but on this occasion the editor forgot his dignity and went all
out editorially against the entire Nationalist movement. With
the assistance of two American journalists who were employed
for the purpose, the paper issued a supplement on the Red
question which still stands as a journalistic curiosity, due to the
exaggerated and hysterical articles it contained. One article
which aroused considerable amusement instructed readers on
"How to Spot Communists at Moving Picture Shows and
Other Public Gatherings." Later, after the excitement died
down, the directors of the paper dropped the American
propagandists, employed another editor, and brought the policy

146 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of the paper into accord with the changed conditions in
China.

As a result of the self-administered propaganda, both for-
eign areas at Shanghai immediately went on a war basis, and
thousands of coolies were employed day and night constructing
trenches, barbed-wire barricades, and! concrete blockhouses.
The panic among the foreigners at Shanghai spread to for-
eign capitals, and was aggravated by further alarmist reports
dispatched abroad by the foreign consulates and legations.
Within a few weeks some 40,000 foreign troops were dispatched
to the city, including American marines and soldiers, British
soldiers, Japanese soldiers, Italian marines, and French Annamite
troops from Indo-China.

The American forces were commanded by General Smed-
ley Butler, a veteran of the Boxer campaign of 1900. Butler,
a Quaker, constantly exasperated the other commanders by
issuing pacifist declarations to the press.

At the height of the excitement I asked Butler, at a press
conference, how many troops would be required for a general
armed invasion in China sufficiently strong to suppress the
Nationalist movement. Without hesitation he replied, "I would
not dream of starting an armed invasion in China without a
half million troops, and it probably would require a million
more before the end of the first year." General Butler's state-
ment was confirmed a few years later when the Japanese were
unable to conquer China with more than two million troops
and after years of warfare.

On another occasion General Butler disclosed that his orders
from Washington were "not to fire on any organized body of
Chinese troops." He declared that his sole purpose was to pro-
tect the American community against mob violence. Later,
after General Butler had returned to the United States, he de-
clared that his forces had not fired a single hostile shot while
they were stationed jn China. Following his retirement he

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 147

delivered speeches advocating the withdrawal of all American
and other foreign forces from China.

Another American official who preserved his balance and
opposed an interventionist policy was Admiral Mark L. Bris-
tol, commander of the United States fleet in Asiatic waters.
Admiral Bristol had served as United States High Commis-
sioner to Turkey after World War I, and had observed the
futility of an interventionist movement on the part of the
Allied Powers with regard to that country.

The first British commander in China, Lord Gort, returned
to England in disgust when he discovered that the British
Government also had no intention of embarking on a grandiose
military adventure in China. Elaborate plans for an invasion
of the Yangtze Valley and the creation of a "sanitary zone"
fifty miles wide on each side of the Yangtze River between
Shanghai and Hankow, a distance of six hundred miles, which
had been in the files of the International Settlement for many
years, were put back in the pigeonholes to gather more dust.
The plans had been prepared by old-guard dyed-in-the-wool
imperialists in Shanghai, who thought China could be fright-
ened into submission by a show of foreign force.

The new British commander sent out to replace Lord Gort
held a press conference shortly after his arrival. Exhibiting a
new map on the wall of his office, he said, "I want you to see
that I have changed the color of the thumb tacks indicating
the location of the Chinese Nationalist troops; previously we
used red tacks, now they are yellow." He declared that the
British Government realized that the Chinese Nationalist move-
ment was a genuine revolutionary effort designed to bring
about a new day in China, and was not a "Red Wave on the
Yangtze" designed for the purpose of driving Americans and
Europeans out of the country, as had been pictured in the
excited propaganda and exaggerated news reports circulated
by Shanghai's die-hard imperialists.

Conservative Chinese commercial and financial interests at

148 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Shanghai generally supported the Nationalist movement, which
they hoped would bring an end to the political unrest which
had prevailed in the country for a decade. They thought it
would bring order to a sorely harassed nation and its impover-
ished people, but the bankers and businessmen at the same time
realized there would be no permanent relief or reconstruction
under the program proposed by the Communist wing of the
Kuomintang Party. Delegations of businessmen and bankers
sent from Shanghai to Hankow, and to Kiangsi and Hunan
Provinces, for the purpose of investigating conditions under
the Red regime, were seized and paraded through the villages
in their shirt-tails by radical students bearing placards denounc-
ing Chinese businessmen as "Running-Dogs of the Imperialists."
When the delegates returned to Shanghai with their reports of
the reign of terror which prevailed in Hankow and surround-
ing areas, they immediately took steps to prevent a recurrence
of such developments in the Shanghai area.

The complete story of the Shanghai war between the right-
wing Kuomintangists and the left-wing radicals and Commu-
nists never was told because those who were responsible for
the suppression of the radical elements obviously did not wish
to reveal their methods, while those who were suppressed did
not survive to tell the story. The fact that the Communists had
armed and trained thousands of laborers in Shanghai mills was
known to the municipal authorities, who naturally took steps
to meet the situation; they were spurred to action by the
Communists' seizure of strategic points in the native areas.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was at his headquarters at
Nanchang in Kiangsi Province, hence did not take part in the
suppression of the Red elements at Shanghai; and the same
applied to three of the four outstanding leaders of the con-
servative wing of the party, General Li Chi-sheng, General
Li Tsung-jen, and General Ho Ying-chin, as they also were in
command of Nationalist armies still hundreds of miles from
Shanghai.

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 149

But the same could not be said of another Nationalist com-
mander, who also had been associated with General Chiang in
the advance from Canton. The commander was Chang Chien,
who did not participate in the drive on Shanghai, but diverted
his troops to the west and moved directly on Nanking. When
General Chang Chien's troops entered Nanking they systemati-
cally looted the city, including the foreign consulates, mission
stations, and residences and business properties of both foreign-
ers and Chinese. Acting in accordance with an apparently
prearranged plan, they staged a reign of terror, and numerous
outrages were committed against foreigners. Evidence pointed
to the fact that the Nanking incident had been staged by leftist
elements for the purpose of discrediting General Chiang Kai-
shek.

Opposed to the advancing Nationalists was the able North-
ern general, Sun Chuan-fang, who controlled the seaboard
provinces of Fukien, Chekiang, and Kiangsu from his capital
at Hangchow, about one hundred miles southwest of Shanghai.

Before the situation became critical, I had accompanied a
group of correspondents to Hangchow to interview General
Sun regarding his plans for the defense of the Shanghai dis-
trict against the Nationalists. The Shanghai or Yangtze delta
region embraced a triangular area, the three sides of which were
100, 200, and 250 miles in length respectively. Shanghai was at
the eastern apex, Nanking at the north, and Hangchow at the
south. Within this triangular area was the richest section of
China, embracing fertile agricultural land devoted largely to
the production of cotton, silk, wheat, and rice. There also were
a number of prosperous industrial cities, chief of which was
Wusih, center of cotton, silk and flour manufacturing within
this section.

General Sun was one of the more enlightened of the North-
ern military commanders and had a good record as an
administrator. He held a review of his troops, reputedly the
best equipped in the country, and declared his ability to hold

I JO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Shanghai against the "Reds/' One of the correspondents who
represented a New York paper sent a story that Shanghai was
"impregnable" and in no danger of occupation by the National-
ists. He was not aware of the fact that the morale of General
Sun's well equipped forces had been completely undermined
by propaganda of the Communists.

Since the foreign-administered International Settlement and
French Concession were garrisoned by foreign troops and were
heavily insulated from contact with the surrounding country-
side by a string of fortifications and countless strands of barbed-
wire barricades, the population inside had little knowledge of
what was going on outside. For many days preceding the ar-
rival of the Nationalist forces there was continuous gunfire in
the densely populated areas of Pootung, Chapei, and Nantao,
where most of the native-owned industries were located and
where most of the laboring population resided.

Shanghai was in such a nervous state that the wildest rumors
were constantly in circulation, and most of them were believed.
One day there was a report that the authorities of the French
Concession had decided not to offer resistance to the advancing
Nationalist armies, and would permit the soldiers to enter the
Concession without their arms. Since the two foreign areas
were separated only by a street, this still further increased the
prevailing panic in the International Settlement. That night the
Settlement authorities put their army of laborers to work build-
ing a new barbed-wire barricade, this time between the Inter-
national Settlement and the French Concession. I interviewed
the French Consul-General about the new turn of events, but
he only shrugged his shoulders. I suspected he knew more than
he was willing to admit, which we soon found to be a fact, for
the French already had established contact with the Nationalist
(Kuomintang) officers. When the American correspondents
learned that two Nationalist officers had arrived on the border
of the French Concession, it was the French municipal police
who opened the gates in the barricade and permitted us to pass
through for an interview. The Nationalist officers were Gen-

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 151

eral Li Tsung-jen and General Ho Ying-chin. Both assured us
that they had no intention of attacking the foreigners and that
they had taken steps to restore order in the native areas about
Shanghai. They informed us that the Northern commander at
Shanghai had already fled, and that his troops had been dis-
armed.

Bearing in mind the fact that Shanghai is China's "key" city,
which any political group seeking to govern the country must
control, it was obvious that both groups in the Kuomintang had
made preparations to seize control of the Chinese-administered
sections of the city. Propaganda squads attached to the radical
branch of the party were first on the scene and had completely
undermined the morale of the Northern troops which controlled
the lower Yangtze district, in which Shanghai is located. The
demoralization of the erstwhile defenders of the city was so
complete that their commanders did not wait for the advancing
Nationalist armies to get within shooting distance; they evacu-
ated before the Southerners were within a hundred miles of
the city. The result was that the Shanghai district experienced
an interregnum between the evacuation of the Northerners and
the arrival of the Southern armies, which were forced to travel
afoot as the Northerners had seized all of the railway rolling
stock and available shipping along the coast and on the Yangtze
River.

The Communists thus had an opportunity to make their
preparations. There was no questioning the fact that prevailing
sentiment among the student and labor groups favored the left-
ists and their program of social reform. Preparations had been
made for seizure of control of Shanghai in the manner of Han-
kow, and, as at Hankow, there were parades, mass meetings,
speeches, and distribution of literature. The walls of buildings
were plastered with posters denouncing foreign imperialists.
Any Chinese who helped a foreigner was designated in word
and cartoon as a "running-dog" of the foreign imperialists. Chi-
nese compradores, or native agents of the large foreign firms,

152 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

who constituted a powerful group that controlled the native
guilds and chambers of commerce, were singled out for special
abuse by radical propagandists. The compradores were held up
to public ridicule and no terms of opprobrium in a language
which is rich in such expressions were overlooked in the poster
campaign.

It appeared that Shanghai was on the point of experienc-
ing a repetition of the incidents at Nanking and Hankow, p^rtic-
ularly* when it became known that thousands of rifles had been
distributed to the factory workers by the radical leaders.

2 Benevolent Gangster

Out of the confusion then prevailing in Shanghai there
emerged a figure, previously unknown, who took on the com-
posite character of an earlier-decade American gangster and
political boss. The character was Dou Yu-seng, now listed in
the respectable China "Who's Who" as a "banker, philan-
thropist, and welfare worker." Dou's early life is not well
known, as he was born of peasants in a little fishing village
near the seacoast about twenty-five miles from metropolitan
Shanghai. (The little town, renamed "Dou's Village" and
inhabited by a few hundred people boatmen, fishermen and
farmers was galvanized into sudden prominence in 1934,
when Dou celebrated his fiftieth birthday by dedicating a
family shrine in the village and staging a two-mile-long parade
through the countryside which cost him well over a million
dollars. Banners were carried in the parade containing messages
of felicitation from leaders throughout the country.)

Dou Yu-seng started his career in the Shanghai French
Concession as a youthful fruit peddler. He soon discovered the
places where opium was sold illicitly, and familiarized himself
with the racketeering, hijacking, and other practices which
prevailed in Shanghai somewhat as they were practiced in the
bootleg industry in the United States during prohibition days.
Methods used by Dou Yu-seng in gaining control of the under-

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 153

world situation followed traditional lines, and Dou shortly
emerged from the sidewalks and malodorous gutters of the
French Concession and the adjoining native district of Nantao
as controller of opium, gambling, and the amusement industries.
In his rise to power Dou solved a local political problem which
previously had defied solution: he amalgamated two powerful
secret political organizations whose activities extended far back
into the era of the Manchu Dynasty. The organizations, known
as the Blue Society and the Green Society, originally were en-
gaged in intrigue against the Manchus, but after the creation of
the republic they degenerated into gangsterism. The two groups
were violently antagonistic, and their rivalries frequently broke
out in gun battles similar to early tong wars in the Chinese
communities in the United States. But Dou Yu-seng accom-
plished the seemingly impossible by amalgamating the rival
groups, and became head of the rejuvenated organization known
as the Blue-Green Society, which performed functions, accord-
ing to Chinese lights, probably not greatly different from those
performed by political groups which dominate the large cities
of the United States.

Dou Yu-seng had two trusted lieutenants, one of whom
controlled the amusement industry and the other the native
chambers of commerce and guilds. They previously had been
active in the rival Blue and Green societies respectively.

Political conditions in the French Concession facilitated
Dou's rise to power. The Shanghai French Concession, although
regarded as a "little piece of La Belle France," was governed
not directly from Paris, but second-hand through Hanoi, capi-
tal of the French Colony of Indo-China. The inefficiency and
corruption which prevailed in the French Colony were re-
peated in the French Concession at Shanghai. French officials,
particularly chiefs of police, appointed to Shanghai quickly
amassed fortunes from underworld activities which prevailed
in the Concession. These conditions were exposed to the world
when the French Administration at Hanoi surrendered abjectly
to the Japanese.

154 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Dou Yu-seng and his associates took advantage of this situa-
tion and became the real controllers of the French Concession.
Don ruled his empire from his home in the Concession, which
resembled an arsenal. But he was a liberal contributor to chari-
ties and he came to hold more chairmanships on directorates
of Chinese banks and business houses than any other man in
the city. His orders were enforced by hundreds of armed
guards, popularly known as "Dou's plain-clothes men."

When conditions became chaotic after the withdrawal of
the Northern troops, Dou Yu-seng stepped into the breach and
notified the local foreign authorities that he would assume
responsibility for the maintenance of law and order, pending
the arrival of the Nationalist troops. It was at this point that
the shooting began; it continued without intermission for many
days. Preparations which the radicals and Communists had made
for seizing the city back-fired, and the reign of terror which
the Reds had planned was turned against them.

No accurate count was made of bodies which littered the
streets of the native areas, but Edgar Snow, who was then on
the staff of the China Weekly Review, estimated that more
than 5,000 leftists were killed. According to Snow's account,
Chou En-lai, the Communist leader, had organized 600,000
workers who staged a general strike, completely tying up the
industries of the city. Order among the strikers was maintained
by some 50,000 trained pickets. Police stations and the local
arsenal and garrison headquarters were seized by some 5,000
armed workers, of whom about 2,000 had been specially trained.
A so-called "citizens' government 3 ' was proclaimed, stated
Snow's account.

But the Communist coup was short-lived. It could not stand
up against the experienced gunmen of Dou Yu-seng. When the
Nationalist troops under General Li Tsung-jen, General Pai
Chung-hsi, and General Ho Ying-chin arrived at Shanghai they
found the job already completed; the city was handed over to
them by Dou Yu-seng and his lieutenants. Chou En-lai, the

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 155

Communist leader, was imprisoned and other radical leaders,
who were not captured and executed, fled to Hankow. Shortly
afterward, when General Chiang Kai-shek arrived and assumed
control of the situation, he issued an edict expelling the Commu-
nists from the Kuomintang and ordering the deportation from
China of all Russian Soviet advisers. The enforcement of the
expulsion and deportation order at Canton was accompanied
by serious rioting and the massacre of many members of the
leftist group, including several Russians. The lives of a num-
ber of the Russian advisers were saved by American Consul
Houston, who permitted them to seek refuge in the American
consulate at Canton.

After the collapse of the "Canton Commune" the Reds
attempted to set up a regime at Swatow on the coast of Kwan-
tung Province, north of Canton, but it could not stand against
the Kuomintang troops led by General Chiang Kai-shek. Finally
the defeated Red forces which were scattered over Central and
South China combined with those driven from Hankow, and
formed a "Soviet Government of China" in the mountainous
areas on the border between Kiangsi and Fukien Provinces,
where they held out for several months, but ultimately were
ejected by Chiang Kai-shek's air-bombers and forced to flee
to the Northwest, where they established another communistic
government at Yenan, Shensi which is still in existence.

The last episode staged by the Red wing faction in the
Kuomintang was at Nanking when Communists within the
Nationalist army staged the attack on foreign residents. Several
Americans and Britons were killed and wounded, and it became
necessary for American gunboats on the Yangtze at Nanking
to fire on a mob of soldiers attacking members of the Ameri-
can consulate and local American residents, including several
women, who were marooned on a hill overlooking the city wall.
The soldiers were frightened away* by the gunboat barrage, and
the Americans were evacuated over the wall to the gunboats
on the river. After General Chiang Kai-shek's loyal commanders

156 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

succeeded in restoring order, the leaders of the Communist coup,
which was designed to discredit the Kuomintang with the for-
eign Powers, were tried and several of them were executed,

On the evening of the day following the Nanking incident,
the correspondents were summoned to a press conference at the
American consulate. I was accompanied to the meeting by Prof.
Manley CX Hudson of the Department of International Law at
Harvard, and we were introduced to an American mission-
ary who had been in Nanking at the time of the "reign of ter-
ror," He told us of the murder of Dr. Williams, President
Emeritus of Nanking University, and that of an American
woman secretary in one of the mission offices because she re-
fused to hand over the keys to the safe; and also of the shoot-
ing and wounding of the British Consul

These incidents had already been reported, but the intense
interest of the correspondents was aroused when the speaker,
who was in a highly excited state as a result of his experiences,
declared that there had been several instances where foreign
women had been raped by the crazed Red soldiers. Copies of
the missionary's statement, which had just been typed by one
of the consular staff, were passed out to the correspondents.
Before the conference broke up, Dr. Hudson suggested to me
that I ask the spokesman whether he had personal knowledge
of any of the rape cases. He replied with considerable heat that
he did not have first-hand information, but had been told of
the incidents by persons whom he trusted. This immediately
aroused a ^serious controversy, in the course of which Dr. Hud-
son explained that he had served on a commission which had
investigated World War I atrocities, and that few alleged rape
cases had stood up under investigation.

The upshot of the matter was that most of the correspond-
ents who cabled the rape story qualified it as not based on first-
hand information. It should be stated that so-called "rape"
stories had been freely circulated about the city and had ap-

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 157

peared in some of the papers. These stories were exploited by
reactionary interests with the object of provoking armed
intervention on the part of the foreign Powers.

Several weeks after the above happenings I received a let-
ter from an American woman physician who was in Nanking
at the time of the incident and had made a first-hand investiga-
tion of the rape allegations. She said that there had been only
one case, and that it was "attempted" rape. Her account stated
that three soldiers had entered a house and, finding an Ameri-
can woman alone, had dragged her to an upstairs room. How-
ever, they became frightened and ran away without accomplish-
ing their purpose. This was the only case of the kind which
came to my attention in more than a quarter of a century of
newspaper work in China.

Dou Yu-seng was hailed as the deliverer of Shanghai from
the Red menace. Shortly afterward the home French Govern-
ment became exasperated over the corruption and gangsterism
which had prevailed for so many years in the French Conces-
sion, sent an admiral and a naval force to Shanghai, and effected
a complete clean-up of gangsterism. After that Dou Yu-seng
became a respectable businessman and philanthropist and was
decorated by the Government. However, he kept an anchor
to windward by retaining control of his Blue-Green Society
and his small army of plain-clothes men.

When the Japanese intervened at Shanghai early in 1932
in order to suppress anti- Japanese activities which flared up
following Japan's seizure of Manchuria, Dou Yu-seng's "army"
again went into action in the Hongkew section of Shanghai,
which the Japanese had occupied. Firing from concealed posi-
tions in npper stories and on roofs of buildings, they wreaked
havoc among Japan's naval forces as well as civilians. Dou's
plain-clothes men aided materially in the defense of the city
and made the intervention so costly to the Japanese that they
were glad to accept mediation and withdraw their naval
forces. When the Japanese launched their war in China proper
in 1937, Dou Yu-seng and his followers, after defending the

158 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

city to the last ditch, withdrew with the Nationalist forces to
West China, where they have stayed.

Many months after the suppression of the Communists at
Shanghai, Stirling Fessenden, American chairman of the Inter-
national Settlement and popularly known as the "Lord Mayor
of Shanghai," told me the following story of the "saving" of
Shanghai from the Chinese Reds and their Soviet advisers. So
far as I know the full story has never appeared in print, as it
was "off the record" until Fessenden's death in Shanghai follow-
ing the Japanese occupation.

Fessenden said that the authorities of the French Conces-
sion were chiefly responsible for bringing Dou Yu-seng into
the Shanghai "war" between the Kuomintang and the Russian-
supported Chinese Communists. Dou had "grown up" in the
French Concession, hence it was natural for the French to turn
to him for assistance, as all governmental authority had col-
lapsed in the Chinese areas surrounding the foreign districts.
Fessenden said:

"The French, chief of police phoned me one day and asked
me to meet him for a confidential talk about the local situation.
I went to the address he gave me and was surprised to find it
was a Chinese residence surrounded by a high wall, with armed
guards at the front gate. I was admitted and immediately
ushered into a waiting room. I could not help but notice that
the large entrance hall was lined on both sides with stacks of
rifles and sub-machine guns. Soon I heard voices, and the
French official entered with two Chinese. One was Dou Yu-seng
and the other was an interpreter. We got down to business
immediately, the French chief of police explaining that he had
been discussing with Dou the matter of defending the foreign
settlement against the Communists, as the local Chinese Govern-
ment, which was composed of Northerners, had collapsed
following the evacuation of the Northern defense commander
and his troops. Dou went to the point in a businesslike man-
ner. He was willing to move against the Reds, but he had two

FIGHTING IN SHANGHAI 159

conditions: first, he wanted the French authorities to supply
him with at least 5,000 rifles and ample ammunition. Then turn-
ing to me/' said Fessenden, "he demanded permission to move
his military trucks through the International Settlement, some-
thing which the Settlement authorities had never granted to
any Chinese force. Dou said this was necessary in order to
move arms and munitions from one section of the native city
to the other."

Fessenden told Dou he would agree subject to the approval
of the Municipal Council. Continuing, Fessenden said:

"I realized we were taking a desperate chance in dealing
with a man of Dou's reputation, but the situation was critical,
as an attempt by the Communists to seize the Settlement and
the French Concession was certain to result in widespread dis-
order and bloodshed, involving the lives of thousands of Ameri-
cans, Britons, and other foreign residents as well as tens of
thousands of Chinese who resided in the foreign-administered
sections of the city. Since the Communists had plotted to seize
the foreign areas and defend themselves against the Kuomin-
tang troops, it would mean that the foreigners would be sand-
wiched between the contending forces. The result would have
been international complications far more serious than anything
which had occurred since the establishment of the Settlement
nearly a century ago. It took Dou about three weeks to com-
plete his job, and by that time sufficient foreign troops had
arrived to preserve order within the foreign sections; and also
by that time General Chiang Kai-shek had arrived and assumed
control in the native area. He immediately announced that the
Kuomintang troops had no intention of attacking the foreign-
ers, as had occurred at Nanking. He also announced that the
perpetrators of the Nanking outrages would be punished."

Many American professional defenders of the Chinese
Communists have written tearful paragraphs about the "mas-
sacre" of Chinese workers and students by the Chinese "fascists
and capitalists" at Shanghai, Canton and elsewhere. They either
gloss over or omit entirely the all-important point that the so-

1 60 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

called workers and students had been trained in revolutionary
methods and terrorism either in Moscow or by Russian agents
in China, and that these same workers and students were pro-
vided with arms by agents of the Third International operating
in China. So long as the Communists maintain the principle of
"force" as a means of accomplishing their political designs, they
can have no cause for complaint when their enemies use simi-
lar methods in opposing them.

XV
Diplomatic Juggling on Intervention

AN INTERESTING ASPECT of the situation in Shanghai in 1927 has
recently been brought to light by the publication of dispatches
exchanged between the State Department and the American
Consul-General at Shanghai.

Two particular dispatches referring to the China Weekly
Review were exchanged between Clarence E. Gauss, Consul-
General at Shanghai (1926-27), and Frank B. Kellogg, Secre-
tary of State, at the time of the advance of the Chinese National-
ist forces from Canton into the Yangtze Valley.

Mr. Gauss (who retired as Ambassador to the Chungking
Government in 1944) wired the State Department late in
March, 1927, questioning the authenticity of a dispatch from
Washington by the China Weekly Review's correspond-
ent, J. J. Underwood, which indicated that the Coolidge
Administration did not intend to intervene in China in com-
pany with other countries under a "unified command," which
was being demanded by die-hard interests in Shanghai. Owing
to the stirring developments which followed publication of the
dispatch in the China Weekly Review and other Shanghai pa-
pers, the dispatch is quoted here in full as a significant and,
as later developments showed, an accurate statement of Ameri-
can policy toward the Chinese Nationalist military and politi-
cal movement. The dispatch read as follows:

WASHINGTON, March 30 [1927]. It was explained at the White
House today that the President is convinced of the fact that the
situation of China is more promising. It is intimated in official circles
that there is no purpose in joining in any unified demand of punish-
ment of those guilty in connection with the Nanking incident.

161

1 62 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Although the Shanghai situation demands cooperation, it was inti-
mated in administration circles that the United States Government
did not as yet feel that the China situation demanded the necessity
of creating the unified command. Furthermore, it is felt that there
is no necessity for additional troops, that is in addition to those now
in China and en route. It was emphasized again at the Department
of State that the American forces in China are merely acting in a
police capacity and that this does not mean intervention. In refer-
ence to the Nanking incident it was stated that it has not been
determined the Cantonese were responsible.

At the time of the publication of this dispatch none of the
Shanghai newspapers received dispatches directly from the
United States through any American aews service, and in
consequence the papers depended entirely upon the British
Reuter's service, which then reported happenings in the United
States by the roundabout route of London-Calcutta-Singapore-
Hong Kong. Shanghai was therefore not in direct touch with
official or public opinion in the United States as it had developed
on the question of armed intervention in China.

Shanghai for weeks had been panicky over the advance of
the Nationalist armies from the South, and the chambers of
commerce, municipal government and foreign consuls, as well
as the legations at Peking, had been frantically cabling for more
troops to protect the city, which had already been barricaded
by a hastily constructed system of trenches, concrete block-
houses, and innumerable strands of barbed wire. The intense
propaganda against the Nationalist movement, variously de-
scribed as "controlled and directed by Moscow" and as a
"Red Wave on the Yangtze," had created a psychological situa-
tion among the foreign population closely akm to mass hysteria.
The French authorities, possibly due to their close relationship
with the Catholic missionaries scattered over the country, were
not alarmed at the advance of the Nationalists and, as I have
said, had established contact with the Nationalist leaders long
before they reached the environs of the city. However, the

DIPLOMATIC JUGGLING ON INTERVENTION 1 63

French had also barricaded the borders of their Concession
which fronted on native territory.

The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan
had already responded to the appeals for troops, but as indi-
cated in the telegram to the Review from its correspondent in
Washington, there apparently was no intention on the part of
the Administration, or at least of President Coolidge, to inter-
vene in China under a so-called "unified command," as Shang-
hai's old-guard reactionaries had been demanding for many
years.

I was never able to find anyone who had seen this grandiose
plan of strategy designed to block the Nationalist movement at
the Yangtze and prevent it from extending into North China,
but most residents believed such a plan was in existence and
that the Powers were now prepared to put it into effect. It was
common talk around the clubs and hotel lobbies that the up-
start Nationalists, who had declared their intention of abro-
gating long-established foreign treaties, were to be put in their
proper place and soundly spanked in the bargain. Old ideas
regarding Chinese armies, that they were a ragamuffin outfit
which would run away at the first shot from a rifle in the
hands of a foreign soldier, still prevailed.

Old-guard merchants and residents with vested interests in
the Settlement who dominated the port and controlled most of
the newspapers, believed, under the hypnotism of their own
self-made propaganda, that the long-awaited day of deliverance
had arrived. Plans for the creation of a vast "free, city" area at
the mouth of the Yangtze were pulled out of pigeonholes,
dusted off, and revised for immediate use.

Therefore the publication of the Washington dispatch in
the China Weekly Review, intimating that there would be no
intervention, no unified command, no fantastic creation of a
neutral zone on the Yangtze, and that the troops being sent
to Shanghai were for police purposes only, created a feeling

164 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of exasperation and frustration difficult of description except
in technical terms of mass psychopathy. The China Weekly
Review, which had published the dispatch, was regarded some-
what in the light of the traditional bearer of bad tidings. Die-
hard reactionaries argued, "Surely the dispatch cannot be true;
obviously the Powers cannot let us down at this crucial stage;
the dispatch must have been inspired by the Bolsheviks; the
United States Government could not be guilty of such a
'pusillanimous' policy."

Indignation mounted to feverish proportions. The fact that
the Review had long argued editorially that it was necessary
for the foreigners to meet the rising tide of Chinese Nationalism
with concessions, otherwise they would lose everything, caused
the old guard to blame me, as editorof the paper, for the failure
of their well-laid plans.

As a result of the agitation Consul-General Gauss cabled the
State Department to the following effect:

This message not only is disconcerting to Americans here who,
whatever their previous opinions, now are awakened to the neces-
sity for strong action of the Powers on the Nanking incident in
order to check the dominant control of the Nationalist movement
by the radical communist element, but is distinctly encouraging to
that radical element now rapidly gaining control of the situation.
I trust the report in the China Weekly Review is incorrect and that
I may be instructed to repudiate it. The situation here remains
unchanged, with the radical and lawless elements holding a large
measure of control and Chiang Kai-shek with limited forces taking
no drastic measures to suppress them.

The State Department sent a reply to Mr. Gauss's telegram
which should be preserved in the museum of diplomatic curiosi-
ties, if such an institution exists, for it confirmed in typical
diplomatic circumlocutory terms every statement which ap-
peared in Jack Underwood's dispatch to the China Weekly
Review but ended with an allegation that the dispatch "had
no basis of truth" and, if Mr. Gauss "considered it wise," he
was authorized to repudiate it. The reply:

DIPLOMATIC JUGGLING ON INTERVENTION 165

WASHINGTON, March 31 [1927]. Apparently the press report
you quoted is based on the White House press conference March
29, during which in replying to questions the President stated that
he had nothing to add to his statement the other day concerning
the movement of American forces to China, at which time he had
said he saw no necessity for increasing American forces in China.
However, he wanted to say that he had hardly made that state-
ment when a telegram was received from Admiral Williams request-
ing 1,500 additional marines, and these were of course being sent
by the Navy Department. The President said he expected that
these forces would suffice, that it might be possible that there might
be no need for them, but that China was a long distance away in
any case, and to get a force assembled ready to send takes time.
We have to anticipate what events might arise and we are depend-
ing upon the Admiral's request for more forces. The Admiral, up
to the time when the first statement was made, had not thought
the sending of any larger force than he had in China was neces-
sary. For a considerable length of time three cruisers were held
at Honolulu awaiting his call, and some days ago they were dis-
patched. The purpose of our forces there is to protect our people
and their property. Our forces are not an expeditionary force.
They are in the nature of a police force to give our people protec-
tion in so far as they can. They are not allowed to make war on
anyone. There is no organized military attack on our people, but
sometimes disorganized attacks are made by soldiers who are not
acting, we presume, under authority from anyone attempting to
function as a government, but who rather are acting as a mob.
The liability of something like that breaking out at any time is
the reason we are increasing our forces. There will not be a change
in the command of our forces in China. Our forces will of course
be commanded by our own officers and it is not intended so far
as I know to have any unified command. As is necessary, of course,
we are cooperating there with other nations. I do not understand
that the location of the foreign settlements is such that our people
are altogether separated from the people of other nations. There
is no separation of the French Settlement from the settlement of
other nationals or the International Settlement, so that we all should
act together in order to prevent a mob from forcing its way through
at any time and to give protection to our own people. The above
report is for your confidential and private information. You will
understand that the statement published in the China Weekly Re-
view has no basis of truth and if you consider it wise to repudiate
the statement you are authorized to do so. KELLOGG

1 66 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

The contents of this dispatch were soon known and whis-
pered about Shanghai. Two days later the American Chamber
of Commerce in Shanghai passed a strong resolution demand-
ing armed intervention in China by the Powers. The Chamber's
resolution expressed the view that the American people at home
"are easily cajoled into tearful sympathy for any cause, right-
eous or otherwise, and have been duped in regard to the Chinese
situation by Soviet propaganda. n

Shortly after the passage of this resolution the board of
directors called a special meeting of the chamber and formally
requested the resignation of the editor of the China Weekly
Review because of the paper's editorial policy. Although an
active member of the chamber almost from the date of its
organization in 1917, I was not notified of the special meeting
and only through accident learned of it in time to reach the
meeting place before the vote on the resolution was taken. I
had that morning received another telegram from the Review's
Washington correspondent, Mr. Underwood, confirming fur-
ther the opposition of President Coolidge and Secretary of State
Kellogg to any armed interventionist program, and had a copy
of it in my pocket when I went to the meeting. The meeting
was attended by only a small percentage of the membership,
and as I looked over the gathering I had a feeling that it was
a "packed" meeting. My surmise was borne out when the
members present, one after another, got up and condemned
the China Weekly Review for its editorial attitude as being
contrary to the interests of American business in Shanghai and
of foreigners generally in China.

Before a vote was taken I stated that I realized fully the
seriousness of the crisis in China, but was convinced that armed
action by the Powers would only have the effect of strengthen-
ing the radical elements and their Soviet supporters who were
trying to overthrow the moderate Kuornintang faction, led by
General Chiang Kai-shek. I also explained that the views I had
expressed editorially in the Review coincided with the tradi-

DIPLOMATIC JUGGLING ON INTERVENTION 167

tional views of the United States Government, and particu-
larly with the views of the Administration leaders. I then read
the telegram I had received that morning from Washington,
which further confirmed the previous message, that Washington
was opposed to armed intervention, except for the protection
of the lives and property of American citizens from mob vio-
lence.

I had scarcely resumed my seat when a local American
lawyer, Chauncy P. Holcomb, a Delawarean, and a former
District Attorney attached to the United States Court for China,
got up and made a fiery speech in which he denounced the
"pusillanimous" policy of the United States Government and
charged that the China Weekly Review "was largely respon-
sible for the attitude of our home authorities In letting the
Americans and other foreigners down." Before the vote was
taken someone raised a parliamentary question by calling atten-
tion to the by-laws of the chamber, which provided that no
member of the chamber could be expelled without due notice
in writing being given and a certain number of days permit-
ted to elapse so that a formal reply could be made. But the
members present would not listen to opposition, even on
constitutional grounds, and passed the resolution by a consider-
able majority. I immediately declared my determination to
continue my editorial policy and refused to comply with the
chamber's resolution demanding my resignation unless the
chamber's action was confirmed at a meeting called for the
purpose in accordance with the by-laws of the organization.
No such meeting ever was held.

The correspondents for American and British papers who
were covering the Shanghai crisis sent to their papers stories
of the action of the American chamber, and as a result I was
deluged by telegrams and cables congratulating me on my
attitude and urging me to stand my ground in opposition to
armed intervention. Among those who approved my stand

1 68 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Some days later I had confirmation of my suspicion that
the American chamber's action had been instigated by mem-
bers of the so-called "Raven Group" of local businessmen,
who were deeply involved in speculative real-estate promo-
tional activities in land located outside of the foreign settle-
ments. This group stood to gain materially from an intervention-
ist program. It was disclosed later that a member of this group
had fostered the^plan to create a so-called "Free City" at the
mouth of the Yangtze River which would be independent of
the Republic of China. The plan, which had been sent to the
League of Nations at Geneva, was a thinly disguised scheme
to carve a colony out of China's national domain which would,
of course, include the Municipality of Shanghai. (For further
comment on Raven, see Chapter II.)

American missionary groups in China, with few exceptions,
took a position sharply in contrast to the attitude of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, which was openly condemned as "gunboat"
policy and contrary to the best interests of Americans and
Chinese alike. Several of the missionary groups which had suf-
fered in the Nanking incident refused to accept indemnities for
losses of life or property.

The American chamber at Shanghai persisted in its opposi-
tion to the non-interventionist policies of the United States
Government, and even went to the extent of appointing as its
Washington representative a notorious Japanese propagandist,
George Bronson Rea, editor of the Far Eastern Review, a paper
which had served Japanese interests in the Far East for more
than a decade. Mr. Rea once made a speech before the annual
convention of the United States Chamber of Commerce in
which he recommended a new policy for the United States in
the Far East, which he called "benevolent intervention to save
China from the Red influence of Moscow." Mr. Rea later be-
came the diplomatic representative in Washington for the
puppet state of Manchukuo with a salary of $25,000.

Robert Pickens, a member of the Washington Bureau of

DIPLOMATIC JUGGLING ON INTERVENTION 169

the Associated Press, who was in Shanghai at the time of these
events, compiled a summary of press opinion in the United
States on the question of armed intervention in China. He
called attention to the fact that ordinarily the American press
is more or less dormant on the matter of China news, but largely
due to the Nanking incident, even the most conservative papers
printed long dispatches from their correspondents under heavy
headlines. The China situation thus became a big story of first-
rate importance, and as a result public opinion in the United
States was mobilized to an unusual extent. The American press
was almost unanimously opposed to intervention in China, and
there was strong opposition to American cooperation with other
Powers in a program which might involve widespread military
action. According to a summary prepared by the Literary
Digest, American editors had seldom been so unanimous in their
endorsement of President Coolidge's policy. Mr. Pickens's sur-
vey, written for publication, declared that American editorial
opinion in opposition to the Shanghai scheme of sanctions had
led the State Department to follow a non-intervention policy.

XVI
China and USSR at War

ANTI-RUSSIAN SENTIMENT which developed in Central and
South China following the split in the Kuomintang Party in
1927 quickly spread to North China. Here the Russians found
their bitterest opponent in Marshal Chang Tso-lin, dictator of
Manchuria and leader of the Northern military faction opposed
to General Chiang Kai-shek (who became Generalissimo in
1928).

On April 6, 1927, Marshal Chang Tso-lin's police, assisted
by guards from the Legation Quarter, which was controlled
by the American, British, Japanese, French, Dutch, Spanish
and Portuguese Ministers, raided the offices of the Soviet Em-
bassy in Peking. Aside from the Chinese charge that the Rus-
sians were using the Diplomatic Quarter as a center for the
propagation of communistic ideas, the foreign legations had
their own grievances against the Russians through the discovery
of a plot supposedly hatched in the office of the Soviet military
attache to secure access to the British Embassy compound.
The Soviet Embassy occupied quarters adjoining the British
Legation, from which it was separated by a high wall, and it
was alleged that an entrance was being made through the wall
from the Soviet side, with the aim of attacking the British
guards and precipitating an incident. The Soviet Ambassador,
then home on leave, was L. M. Karakhan, first diplomatic emis-
sary sent to China by the USSR. A year previously, Marshal
Chang Tso-lin had demanded Karakhan's recall.

Large quantities of communist propaganda literature and
documents were seized in the raid, and several Russians and

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR 17 1

Chinese found on the premises were arrested. The Soviet
Government denounced the raid as "an unprecedented viola-
tion of the elementary rules of international law," but Mar-
shal Chang ignored the protests and circulated to the press and
the diplomats of the other Powers photographic reproductions
of documents proving the existence of a widespread plot to
communize China. The documents also indicated that members
of the Soviet Embassy's staff were involved in the plot. This
was a serious matter, as it constituted a violation of the stipula-
tions of the Peking agreement of 1924 by which the Soviet
Government bound itself not to disseminate communist propa-
ganda in China. As a result of the disclosures the Soviet charge
d'affaires was recalled, and after a brief court-martial the Chi-
nese ringleaders arrested in the raid were shot.

Chang Tso-lin's animosity toward the Soviet Russians was
increased by the discovery of documents showing that the
Russians were using the revenue and facilities of the Chinese
Eastern Railway, which crosses North Manchuria, for the pur-
pose of spreading communism throughout China. Following
the Bolshevist Revolution in 1917, the Soviet Government
offered to restore the Chinese Eastern Railway and other Czar-
ist Russian interests in North Manchuria to Chinese control*
Later Moscow withdrew this offer, and after the relinquish-
ment of Allied administration of the railway at the end of
World War I, the Russians took over complete control of the
railway. In 1924 the USSR signed an agreement with China
for the joint control and operation of the railway, but this
agreement was not carried out, according to the Chinese, who
alleged that the Russian general manager refused to consult
with the Chinese co-manager of the board on matters of impor-
tant policy.

Recently large numbers of Russkn agents had been sent to
Harbin under the guise of engineers and railway technicians,
who were devoting their time and energies to the furtherance
of communism. Schools operated by the educational depart-
ment of the railway in Harbin and other cities inside the ten-

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

mile-wide railway "zone" were used to disseminate communist
propaganda in violation of the 1924 agreement

A further cause of Marshal Chang's animosity was the
knowledge that his arch enemy Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang was
receiving both arms and financial supplies from Russia. Mar-
shal Feng Yu-hsiang, well known Northern military leader,
formerly affiliated with Marshal Wu Pei-fu in the Anfu Party,
went to Russia in 1926, and studied military tactics for a year.
When he returned to China in 1927 he established himself in
Kansu Province, adjacent to the area now occupied by the
Chinese Communists. With money and arms supplied by the
Soviets he built up the so-called Kuominchun or "National"
Army, and joined the Nationalists at Nanking. Shortly after-
ward he broke with General Chiang Kai-shek and organized
a coalition against Nanking. He was defeated by General Chi-
ang, and after a period of retirement again rejoined the National
Government. Curiously, the rifles which the Soviets supplied to
Feng's troops bore the trademark of the Remington Arms Com-
pany. The rifles had been manufactured in the United States
for the Czarist forces in World War I and had been taken over
by the Bolsheviks after the revolution of 1917.

Although General Chiang Kai-shek had established his
nationalist capital at Nanking, foreign ministers, including our
own, were still accredited to the Peking Government and main-
tained their headquarters there. They were reluctant to give up
the comfort and protection of the old legation quarters, al-
though some of the legations had sent unofficial representa-
tives to Shanghai in order to maintain contact with the new
government.

After the death of Marshal Chang Tso-lin, in June, 1928,
his son, the "Young Marshal" Chang Hsueh-liang, took com-
mand and soon announced his adherence to the new National
Government at Nanking. The Young Marshal also continued
the anti-communist activities in North China and Manchuria
which had been initiated by his father.

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR 173

Shortly after he assumed office in Mukden the Young Mar-
shal learned that the Communist International had called a
secret regional conference to be held in Harbin, North Man-
churia, on May 27, 1929. While the meeting was in progress
the Chinese police staged a raid and arrested some forty Rus-
sian consular officials and practically the same number of Chi-
nese Communists from various parts of Manchuria. The Chinese
also seized two truckloads of papers and documents. Claiming
that the documents confirmed their suspicions that officials of
the Chinese Eastern Railway were talcing an active part in
the propagation of Bolshevist ideas, the Chinese took drastic
action.

On July 10 they seized the railway, dissolved all Soviet
unions of railway workers and arrested some 1,200 railway
officials and union leaders, whom they interned in abandoned
railway buildings several miles from Harbin. It was the first
time the Chinese Government had ever acted so energetically
and decisively against a foreign Power.

Accompanied by a number of other correspondents, includ-
ing Wilbur Forrest of the New York Herald Tribune, Jim
Howe, Associated Press, and William Philip Simms of the
Scripps-Howard newspapers, I arrived in Harbin about a week
later. We found that the Chinese had seized the railway tele-
graph system and all offices of the Soviet Far Eastern Trading
Corporation, the Naphtha Trust, and the Soviet Mercantile
Fleet, which was owned and operated by the railway. The
Mercantile Fleet owned a number qf large paddle-wheel steam-
ers which operated on the Sungari and Amur rivers, reminis-
cent of steamboat days on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The Soviet Government acted with equal energy. Minister
Karakhan, who had in the meantime been appointed Assistant
Foreign Minister in Moscow, denounced the Chinese action
as a "gross violation of treaties" and gave China an ultimatum
of three days to return a satisfactory answer, failing which
the Soviet Government threatened "to resort to other means
for the protection of its lawful rights."

174 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Fighting soon broke out along the Chinese Eastern Rail-
way at both the eastern and western borders of Manchuria,
resulting in heavy casualties to the Chinese forces at the town
of Manchouli, where some 8,000 Chinese soldiers were killed.
The Chinese town of Pogranichnaya, at the eastern end of the
railway, was badly shattered by Soviet artillery fire and air-
bombs. A Chinese town known as Lahasusu at the mouth of the
Sungari River, opposite Khabarovsk on the Amur, was bombed
and burned, and two Chinese gunboats stationed there were
sunk by Soviet planes.

The country about the junction of the Sungari and Amur
rivers interested me very much, as there are numerous vil-
lages in the vicinity inhabited by some of the most primitive
races of Northeastern Asia. We visited a village inhabited by
a tribe of Tatars, most of whose clothing was made from the
skin of the sturgeon, the fish which also produces the famous
Russian "black" caviar. This particular tribe was locally known
as "Fish-skin" Tatars.

I covered the battle of Lahasusu from the deck of an ancient
Chinese paddle-wheel steamboat upon which I had traveled
down the river from Harbin for about 600 miles. I was accom-
panied on the trip by Paul Wright of the Chicago Daily News,
and Baron Taube, a Swedish nobleman, who represented Reu-
ter's. By this time the weather was getting cold and ice had
begun to form in the river. We wondered whether we would
be caught by the river ice and captured by the Soviet troops.
We were anchored at a little river town called Fuchin when
a courier arrived stating the Russians were coming, after having
captured and burned Lahasusu the preceding night. The cap-
tain hurriedly got up steam and we started upstream only five
hours before the Reds arrived. The Chinese told us that the
Russians always followed the practice, on capturing a Chinese
town, of opening all the stores and granaries and distributing
their contents free to the populace as a "communist" gesture.
Another boat, carrying Chinese officials, which followed us,

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR 175

was badly shot up by Soviet planes. We managed to reach
Harbin safely, but with the paddle-wheel and rudder of our
steamer so covered with ice that we had difficulty in moving
against the current.

It was while covering this war that I made the acquaintance
of two important items of attire for Siberian travel. One was
a blanket, formerly manufactured in Warsaw, Poland, and
made of sheep and angora wool. It was nearly an inch thick,
but light and flexible and practically impenetrable by wind,
snow or rain. I paid $50 for it in a Harbin store. The other
item was a pair of Siberian boots made by a Russian bootmaker
in Tientsin. They were made of double-ply leather with a
layer of camel's hair between, while the inch-thick soles con-
tained a layer of asbestos. The soles were sewed and wood-
pegged, as the bootmaker assured us that metal pegs carried
the cold through the soles to one's feet. The shoes had one
defect they squeaked to high heaven. This, I was informed,
was no objection in the eyes of the Russians, as it advertised
the newness of the shoes.

The Far Eastern Soviet army invaded Chinese territory for
about 200 miles at each end of the Chinese Eastern Railway
and also bombed and occupied most of the Chinese towns along
the border. But the Russians did not press beyond the Hing-
han Mountains, due, it was reported, to a warning from the
Japanese not to advance into their sphere of influence.

I heard one gruesome story of this warfare from a White
Russian woman and a boy who ultimately reached Harbin.
They had belonged to a White Russian community of several
hundred families, located in the so-called Three Rivers District
on the Argun River of North Manchuria. This area had been
developed by Russian Cossacks, who had emigrated with their
families across the border, following the revolution in 1917.
The land they occupied was rich and suitable for farming and
cattle grazing, and the colony prospered through the sale of
dairy supplies to the large Chinese cities. The Soviet authorities

176 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

in Siberia resented the activities of the White Russians just
across their border and, after fighting broke out, charged that
the White Russians with Chinese "Fascist" help were attempting
an invasion of Siberia.

Fearing for the safety of their families, the White Russians
sent their wives and children and all elderly males across country
in a long wagon train to the railway at the town of Hailar, about
500 miles west of Harbin. The caravan, accompanied by a
Russian Orthodox priest, had reached a point about fifty miles
north of the railway when it was attacked by a force of Red
Mongolian cavalry, allegedly led by Red army officers.

The woman and boy to whom I talked and who claimed to
be the only survivors of this caravan, having escaped into the
forest, told me that the Mongols had slaughtered every other
member of the caravan. They then built a vast funeral pyre of
the wagons and their contents, consisting of firkins of butter and
large fifty-pound cheeses. Upon this pyre they piled the bodies
of their victims, with that of the priest at the apex. They ignited
the pyre and, yelling and shooting their rifles, rode their ponies
in a wide circle about it as it burned. I could picture the troops
of Genghis Khan in a similar victory celebration seven cen-
turies ago.

After about six months of fighting, mostly of the guerrilla
variety, the Young Marshal was forced to capitulate and to
restore the control of the railway to the Soviets, since General
Chiang Kai-shek was unable to send him reinforcements. Later
there was a peace conference in Moscow, but it broke up with-
out reaching an agreement, and the major issues between the
two countries remain unsettled to this writing.

Three years later, after the Japanese hail occupied Man-
churia and Inner Mongolia and were threatening Siberia, Mos-
cow sold the Chinese Eastern Railway to Japan for approxi-
mately $50,000,000 about a quarter of its real value. In 1937,
when it appeared that the Japanese were making more definite
plans to attack Russia, Moscow offered to join China in a mili-

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR 177

tary alliance against Japan, but she withdrew the offer and con-
ciliated Japan in the face of the approaching war with Germany.

I had never before seen the vast expanse of North Man-
churian farm and grazing lands, its forests, and the Sungari-
Amur river system, which rivals the upper Mississippi and its
tributaries. I realized that here was an empire worth fighting for,
and I was not surprised that China's two powerful neighbors had
had difficulty in keeping their hands off this rich terrain.

Here was a territory capable of absorbing a considerable
portion of the excess population of China's congested seaboard
provinces, a fact which was well known to the Chinese peasants
of Hopei and Shantung provinces south of the Great Wall, who
for a number of years had been migrating to Manchuria at the
rate of more than a million a year. The Governor of Heilung-
kiang, the most northern Manchurian province, told me that
Chinese farmers who arrived in North Manchuria completely
destitute were usually able in less than ten years to purchase
their farms outright and to refund loans advanced to them for
the purchase of farm machinery. In a motor-car ride across the
plain from Anganchi Station on the Chinese Eastern Railway to
Tsitsihar, capital of the province, a distance of forty miles, I
was constantly reminded of the fertile farm lands and the deep
black soil of northern Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. I was told by
George Hanson, United States Consul-General at Harbin, that
in his opinion Manchuria and Inner Mongolia could produce
enough corn, wheat, soya beans and live stock to feed most of
the people of East Asia. In order to participate in the expected
agricultural development of this region, a large American manu-
facturer of farm machinery had already established a branch in
Harbin. It was the only section of the Chinese Republic where
heavy farm machinery could be used.

The city of Harbin, metropolis of North Manchuria, was
established at the time when Czar Nicholas II was extending
the Trans-Siberian Railway system through the mountains and

178 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

forests of eastern Siberia and Manchuria to the Sea of Japan. In
1929 it could not equal the commercial and industrial develop-
ment of the Europeanized China ports, but in many respects it
seemed to me one of the most interesting cities in China. It re-
sembled in many ways the earlier frontier cities of our own
Northwest. The outfitting of hunters and trappers was a chief
business. There were more fur stores than any other type of
retail business, and it was possible to purchase any kind of fur
there from Mongolian squirrel and silver fox to Russian sable,
Siberian bear, or Korean tiger. In a small town near Harbin I
saw a large compound or enclosure filled with Mongolian dogs,
large shaggy canines with long silky black hair. I asked the
Russian kennel man why the dogs were being kept in the en-
closure. He replied in halting English, "Sell skins New York
$50 one piece." I later learned that the Mongols were super-
stitious about their dogs, believing that they harbored the spirits
of dead-and-gone ancestors, and hence would not kill them.
The Russians, however, had no compunctions about raising
them for the American market. I wondered what transformation
these Mongolian dog skins passed through before they reached
Fifth Avenue, and also what became of the spirits of past Mon-
golians who may have inhabited the original wearers of these
skins.

One observed many Mongols, descendants of the followers
of the great Genghis and Kublai Khans, on the streets of Har-
bin and in the towns along the railway. These men of the Gobi,
whose forebears once ruled from the China Sea to the Danube,
are probably still the world's best horsemen and also the clever-
est horse traders. No words are spoken when horse trading is in
progress at their periodic fairs. The buyer and seller face each
other and each slides his hand into the other's sleeve. The buyer
indicates the price he is willing to pay by pressing his fingers
against the seller's forearm; the seller indicates approval or
disapproval by pressure of his fingers on the buyer's other arm.
After much nodding and shaking of heads, the two principals
finally reach a bargain. The advantage of this method of bar-

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR 179

gaining is that others standing by have no way of knowing what
price has been agreed upon.

The Mongols are fond of horse racing with their little
Mongolian ponies, which resemble somewhat our mustangs of
an earlier age. But one can never see both the start and the finish
of a Mongolian horse race, because their race tracks stretch
straight across the prairie. The Mongols line up their ponies,
place their bets, and at a signal are off in the distance in a cloud
of dust.

There are today only about a half million Mongols, most of
them nomads, scattered over a territory about four times the
size of Texas. Before the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and
Inner Mongolia in 1931, the Mongols were about evenly divided
between those giving grudging loyalty to China and those under
Soviet rule. Now the Japanese have taken over Inner Mongolia
and have added to it a considerable portion of western Man-
churia where many Mongols feed their herds of cattle, horses
and sheep.

Practically everything in Mongolia is linked traditionally
with the "Great Ruler of All Men," Genghis Khan. This is true
of a series of springs lying in symmetrical fashion on the oppo-
site slopes of two hills several miles from Harbin to which, ac-
cording to Mongolian folklore, the great Genghis often came.
The water from the springs flows down the slopes of the two
hills and converges in a main stream in such manner as to re-
semble, in the minds of the superstitious Mongols, the brain,
spinal cord, and nervous system of the human body. The water
in the different springs varies from boiling hot to tepid and is
strongly impregnated with minerals from the volcanic rock
through which it flows on its way to the surface. The Mongols
and Russian peasants regard the waters from the springs as hav-
ing miraculous healing powers, but believe that the uninitiated
must exercise great care in using them and obtain the expert
advice of the local medicine man. For example, the waters from
two springs on opposite sides of the valley are infallible cures
for eye ailments, with which the Mongols are widely afflicted.

180 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

But one must be careful to use the water from the spring on the
right side of the valley for diseases of the right eye, and from
the spring on the left side for treatment of the left eye. This
treatment consists of pouring the water, which is nearly at the
boiling point, from a rusty tin kettle directly into the infected
eye. It usually is necessary for the patient to be held firmly on
his back on the ground by two assistants, while a third pours
the water from the kettle, which is held several feet above the
patient. Practically all of the springs have pools walled with
rough stones in which those receiving treatment sit and soak 'by
the hour usually unencumbered by clothing and with no
segregation of the sexes.

Harbin, ixi 1929, had a population of somewhat more than
a half million, about equally divided between Russians and
Chinese. Unlike the China coast ports, where Chinese and for-
eigners live together in the foreign settlements, in Harbin the
Chinese lived in one section, the old Chinese city near the river,
while the Russians lived in "New Town," which the Czar's city
planners had laid out with wide streets and ample parks. The
city had changed little since the days of the Czar, as the Rus-
sian community was predominantly "White," despite the influx
of Soviet agents in connection with the Chinese Eastern Rail-
way. It was literally a city of Russian Orthodox churches. I
was surprised to discover, however, that there was also a com-
munity of Russian Protestants, Baptists and Methodists. The
Baptist pastor was the Reverend Charles Leonard of South Caro-
lina, whose wife was famous in the community for her fried
chicken, Southern style, and genuine Dixie corn pone. The
Reverend Leonard had formerly been stationed in Shantung,
but had followed his Chinese communicants when they emi-
grated to North Manchuria. There was a flourishing American
Y.M.C.A. in Harbin, which had formerly been located in St.
Petersburg but had withdrawn to Harbin following the revo-
lution.

There was also a large, prosperous community of Russian

CHINA AND USSR AT WAR l8l

Jews, who dominated the retail business of the city, particularly
the flourishing fur trade. Most of them had emigrated from
Russia during the revolution of 1917.

Many White Russians, in view of the unstable political
situation, had incorporated their businesses under the laws of
Delaware and flew the American flag. This caused the American
Consul many sleepless nights, because these pseudo-American
firms, which had little or no American capital, were constantly
demanding American protection from excessive Chinese taxes.

There were probably 350,000 White Russians living in Har-
bin and other Manchurian towns along the railway, and in
general they continued to lead the life which they had known
before the 1917 revolution. There was no curfew, and a half
dozen cabarets with dozens of Russian girl dancers and enter-
tainers all "princesses" kept open till daylight. Harbin also
had its quota of gypsy entertainers. The leading hotel, the
Moderne, was the social center for the more prosperous Russians
and the foreign community. It was owned by a Russian emigree,
who superstitiously believed that he would go bankrupt unless
he rebuilt a portion of the building each year. As a result, there
were always carpenters and stone masons at work somewhere
on the premises, much to the annoyance and inconvenience of
the guests.

XVII

"Real" Start of World War II

WE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS and newspapermen stationed in
China were less surprised than the rest of the world when "all
hell broke loose" in Manchuria in 1931. The world was told by
Japanese spokesmen and propagandists that Japan's invasion of
the Chinese northeastern provinces, and her subsequent military
occupation of some 365,000 square miles of Chinese domain,
had been precipitated by an attack on the Japanese-owned South
Manchuria Railway by soldiers wearing the uniform of the
Chinese Government. But the Japanese people at home had been
prepared for developments by the circulation of an entirely
different story.

Early in July, 1931, about two months before the Mukden
affair, the Japanese newspapers carried sensational reports of the
murder of a Japanese army officer, a Captain Nakamura, at an
undisclosed point in Inner-Mongolia, an extensive area controlled
by China and extending from the western border of Manchuria
to Outer Mongolia, where Soviet Russia was dominant for sev-
eral years. The Japanese had long had their eyes on Inner-
Mongolia, as it was valuable grazing land and supplied North
China with beef and mutton and their by-products, hides and
wool. It was also a source of valuable furs. What Captain
Nakamura was doing in Mongolia was never officially explained,
but an account of the incident published in the Japan Chronicle,
a British-owned and -edited paper at Kobe, stated that Captain
Nakamura was accompanied by another Japanese army officer, a
sergeant-major, whose name was not given, and also by a White
Russian and a Mongolian guide. The passport which was issued

182

"REAL" START OF WORLD WAR n 183

to Captain Nakamnra by the Chinese authorities at Mukden
described him as an "educationalist engaged in historical and
geographical studies." The captain carried with him a large sum
of money, said to have amounted to 100,000 yen, or about $50,-
ooo in United States currency. The Japanese press, under mili-
tary inspiration, stirred up a tremendous commotion over the
murder of Captain Nakamura and charged a lack of sincerity on
the part of the Chinese in their efforts to apprehend the mur-
derer. China's investigation, as reported in the Chinese papers,
alleged that the Japanese party, headed by Captain Nakamura,
had been engaged on a mysterious mission along the border of
Soviet-controlled Outer Mongolia, and that Captain Nakamura
had in his possession a large quantity of heroin, a drug for which
the Mongols have an inordinate desire. Fearing more serious
complications, the Chinese authorities in Manchuria hastily ex-
pressed official regret and offered to pay an indemnity for the
death of the Japanese captain. But the Japanese army rejected
the Chinese offer, and the excitement mounted. We who had
been following carefully the accounts of the Nakamura case
in newspapers were therefore not surprised when the real storm
broke at Mukden on the night of September 18, 1931.

But there was another important group which was not pre-
pared, namely, the Institute of Pacific Relations. The Institute
is made up of groups from various nations who spend their time
between conferences in making investigations of special subjects
which are likely to cause complications between nations and thus
lead to war. The biennial conferences are not open to the public
or press, but carefully censored reports of the various delega-
tions attending the biennial meetings are published and now
make up an extensive library. National groups participating in
the Institute include Americans, Britons, Frenchmen, Canadians,
Australians, New Zealanders, Russians, Chinese, and (before
Pearl Harbor) the Japanese. The Institute among other things
had been engaged for two years in compiling reports and docu-
ments pertaining to the crisis in the relations of China and Japan,

184 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

and all was in readiness for the biennial conference of the or-
ganization, which was scheduled to meet in Shanghai in the fall
of 1931. A large staff under a director was sent to Shanghai
to prepare the ground for the conference. At a tea and reception
which the American committee gave for the local Shanghai press,
the director introduced the members of his group, most of whom
were graduate students of Columbia University, as experts in
various phases of international relations. The work of the Insti-
tute is financed by private contributions, chiefly from the
large foundations in New York which are interested in promot-
ing the study of international affairs.

Chester Rowell, well known San Francisco editor and pub-
licist, was also sent to Shanghai with a staff of secretaries to make
preparations for the meeting, which was to be held in the Cathay
Hotel in the International Settlement. Mr. Rowell also gave a
dinner for the local press which was attended by some fifty
editors and correspondents. In his address, following the dinner,
Mr. Rowell explained the objectives of the Institute. He said that
national groups composed of key men and women had been
formed in various countries about the Pacific to study particular
questions of international concern so that in the event of com-
plications arising between any of the countries the Institute
would have a body of experts available who were familiar with
the situation and who could immediately go into action and
bring pressure on their respective governments to maintain a
peaceful attitude until the particular problem could be adjusted
peacefully. In this manner, Mr. Rowell carefully explained, the
Institute planned to prevent the outbreak of another major war,
at least so far as the nations of the Pacific were concerned.

When Mr. Rowell had finished his address, he invited the
newspapermen to ask questions. Since I had been following the
reports from Manchuria rather carefully and realized the seri-
ousness of the growing crisis there, I asked him the only logical
question: "What will the Institute do if China and Japan are at
war when the conference assembles?" For once, Mr. Rowell,
long rated as the best after-dinner speaker on the West Coast,

"REAL" START OF WORLD WAR n 185

was stumped for a reply. After some thought he exclaimed,
"Well, war ends everything," and sat down.

That remark was prophetic; By the time the conference of
the Institute opened, in late September, at Shanghai, the Man-
churian incident had occurred, and Japanese troops were in
occupation of Mukden, the capital of Manchuria, and were in
bloody conflict with the Chinese at several points in Chinese
territory. At the opening session of the convention, Chinese and
Japanese delegates sprang at each other and it was necessary to
adjourn the meeting to Hongchow, a city where a more peaceful
atmosphere prevailed. Although the press is always excluded
from the meetings of the Institute, this particular row leaked
out and received wide publicity.

The first reaction of the Powers to the Manchurian incident,
following the futile American protest, was to send their military
observers to the scene to make an investigation and report.
America sent four, two from the Embassy at Tokyo and two
from the Legation at Peiping.* Britain sent three military ob-
servers, France two, Italy one, and the Assembly of the League
of Nations, then headed by a representative of the Spanish
Republican Government, also sent an observer, the Spanish
Consul-General at Shanghai, Sefior Farrar, who had previously
served as a colonial official in Spanish Africa. Newspaper cor-
respondents, representing leading papers and press associations
in the United States, Great Britain, France, and other countries,
who were stationed in the Far East also flocked to Mukden to
cover a story which all seemed to recognize instinctively as one
of tremendous importance. There were also at Mukden the
regular consular staffs of the United States and Great Britain,
and some two hundred foreign residents who were engaged in
business in the Manchurian capital.

Tokyo's nervousness over the action of the so-called "Kwan-
tung" faction in the Imperial Japanese Army which had per-
petrated the Manchurian "incident" led to the belief on the part
of many correspondents in Manchuria that a vigorous protest

* In 1928 the name of Peking was changed to Peiping.

1 86 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

by the Washington Conference Powers, or even by the United
States alone, would have caused the Japanese to withdraw. It
was known that there was a strong faction in Tokyo which was
opposed to the army's action, and there was indisputable evi-
dence of Tokyo's indecision in connection with the Japanese
army's ludicrous action concerning the occupation of Chin-
chow, important Chinese town and railway junction point
marking the division of territory between the three northeastern
provinces, or Manchuria, and China proper, south of the Great
Wall. When the Powers realized that the Japanese had com-
mitted themselves too far to be recalled from a general invasion
of Manchuria, they set about devising means to prevent the in-
vasion from spreading into the vicinity of the Great Wall,
which included the province of Jehol to the north of Peiping
and the towns of Chinchow and Shanhaikwan in the vicinity of
the eastern end of the Great Wall. The Japanese were, therefore,
pressed not to extend their military activities into this area.

The Japanese Ambassador in Washington, acting supposedly
with the authority of his Government, promised that Chinchow
would be neither bombed nor occupied. In order to see that the
agreement was observed the United States, Great Britain,
France, and Germany (Germany was then on the side of law
and order in the Orient) sent their respective military attaches
to Chinchow, where they were quartered in a Chinese school,
only a few hundred yards from the railway station.

A few days later the world was electrified by a report that
"Chinchow has been bombed, despite the promise of the Japa-
nese Government." General Honjo's headquarters at Mukden
immediately denied the report, but became silent when a Swiss
correspondent, Walter Bosshard, who represented the liberal
Ullstein Press of Germany, made a trip to Chinchow and
brought back with him a large collection of scraps of Japanese
shrapnel shells which he had picked up in the Chinchow railway
yards. When he dumped the shrapnel fragments on the table
before the Japanese army spokesman, that worthy nearly had a
heart attack; he adjourned the press conference. That night

"REAL" START OF WORLD WAR n 187

Major Watari, the army spokesman, staged a geisha party for
the correspondents, in which he consumed so many whiskey-
sodas that he told the "whole inside story" of the bombing of
Chinchow. He said that the army staff, made up of older gen-
erals at Honjo's headquarters, had received instructions from
Tokyo not to interfere with Chinchow. But the younger officers
would not listen, and staged a secret meeting at the private
home of Major Watari, the army spokesman, where the bomb-
ing of Chinchow was framed.

I was among the group of correspondents invited to Major
Watari's home that night. As we sat about a small table in the
living room, Major Watari tapped on the table, a flimsy wooden
affair about a foot square, and exclaimed dramatically, "This is
a historic table; we sat around this table when we framed the
bombing of Chinchow last night." After the die was cast the
army "had" to send a force to Chinchow to occupy the place.
The army dispatched a large force from Mukden over the
Peiping-Mukden Railway, but the troops had proceeded only
about half way when they were suddenly withdrawn. The rea-
son for the withdrawal was a statement by the President of the
United States at the White House press conference that the
Japanese army "had run amok." The Japanese seriously believed
at that time the United States meant business, but when they
discovered that we were only bluffing again, they proceeded
with their program.

I had been covering the war from the Mukden end, but now
decided to take advantage of the lull incidental to the with-
drawal of the Japanese army to make the trip to Chinchow for a
first-hand inspection of the situation. I arrived at Chinchow a
few days before Christinas, 1931, and found that all the military
attaches except the American and British had cleared out. I also
observed several bomb craters on the campus of the Chinese
school where the League of Nations observers had their head-
quarters. The bomb craters showed that the Japanese had not
only bombed the railway yards but had also tried to bomb the

1 88 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

headquarters of the League of Nations Mission, composed of
military observers, which was stationed there.

Early one morning between Christmas and New Year 1
visited the railway telegraph office to file a message, and found
the operators unscrewing their instruments from the bench, a
sure sign of impending evacuation. One of the men excitedly
explained that "Japanese come soon." I hurried back to the head-
quarters with the news. A young American army intelligence
officer, Lieutenant Aldrich, who commandeered an engine and
went up the line to investigate, was taken prisoner by the Japa-
nese and held for several hours. I caught the last train out of
Chinchow, which was loaded with evacuating Chinese railway
and civil officials. Most of the Chinese army had already with-
drawn. I stopped over in the little border town of Shanhaikwan,
where the ancient Great Wall of China comes down to the sea,
and observed the Chinese army of Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang
pass through the Great Wall from Manchuria into China proper,
thus marking the end of Chinese authority in the northeastern
provinces. A dispatch I sent, describing the final evacuation of
Manchuria, was suppressed by the Chinese commander at
Shanhaikwan.

It was five years before the Japanese were ready to extend
their conquest into China proper, south of the Great Wall
five years of futile haggling and inactivity on. the part of the
Western Powers, while Japan, now in alliance with Germany,
proceeded with her ambitious plans for Oriental and world
conquest.

The Manchurian war and growing unrest in the Far East
brought to the attention of American newspaper readers the
dispatches of a new group of correspondents, whose names
heretofore had been unfamiliar, as they had not been sta-
tioned in Europe. Among them were several who later came
to be rated as experts on Far Eastern affairs, including Edgar
Snow, who represented the London Daily Herald; Victor
Keen, New York Herald Tribune; Reginald Sweetland, Chicago

"REAL" START OF WORLD WAR n 189

Daily News; Edward Hunter and John Goette, International
News; Glen Babb and Morris Harris, Associated Press; Frank
Oliver, Reuter's Service; Hallett Abend, New York Times;
John Morris, United Press; I represented the Manchester
Guardian and Chicago Tribune. Later, when the situation grew
more serious, the United Press sent Frederick Kuh' from Berlin
and International News sent Floyd Gibbons.

The situation was enlivened by the arrival of Will Rogers,
who worried the Japanese censors with his daily fifty-word
syndicated wisecracks, which were directed chiefly at the Japa-
nese. One particular message was delayed several hours while
the Japanese censor took it around to various Americans in
Mukden for an explanation. It read as follows: "I have just
heard that the League of Nations has decided to send a mission
to Mukden to investigate the Manchurian Incident. It reminds
me of a familiar scene in early days in Oklahoma when the
sheriff arrived to inspect the stable after the horse had been
stolen." It required considerable diagramming before the Japa-
nese military censors and staff officers could understand that!

With regard to the Manchurian incident itself, we corre-
spondents found plenty of evidence as to what had occurred.
Japanese troops, previously stationed within the zone of the
Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway and in Korea, were
in occupation of the Manchurian capital. When we arrived,
the press representative of the Japanese military headquarters,
Major Watari, who spoke English with an Oxford accent, ex-
plained that "there had been an incident Chinese soldiers wear-
ing the regulation uniform of Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang, head
of the Chinese administration in the three northeastern Chinese
provinces [Manchuria], had blown up a section of track of the
Japanese railway on the outskirts of Mukden the Japanese
army was forced to take action against the Chinese troops in the
vicinity of Mukden." In order that we might see exactly what
had taken place Major Watari escorted us to the "scene of the
crime," a section of track of the Japanese-owned South Man-
churia Railway a few miles from Mukden.

190 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

There we and the military observers were shown the bodies
of three Chinese soldiers lying alongside the track where, al-
legedly, they had been shot while running away from the place
"where they had set off a charge of dynamite which had shat-
tered three cross-ties and blown away a section of the rail on
the outside of a curve." The damage had of course been re-
paired, Major Watari explained, as he pointed to three new
ties and a new rail which had been placed in position. He also
called attention to the fact that the position of the bodies of the
dead Chinese soldiers indicated that they had been running away
when killed. One small circumstance, however, was overlooked
by Major Watari: there were no blood-stains on the ground
where the bodies were lying. Since the Japanese had made a
surprise attack on the Chinese garrison in the vicinity at the
same time, it had been comparatively easy to produce the bodies.
In order to overcome scepticism the Japanese military, some
days later, produced a list of some three hundred cases of alleged
Chinese infringements on Japanese "rights" in Manchuria.

Later when the League of Nations sent an international com*-
mission under Lord Lytton to investigate Japan's seizure of the
Chinese provinces, an American expert, Ben Dorfman, who was
connected with the mission, checked the train schedule and
found that an express train, traveling at approximately fifty miles
an hour, had passed over the scene of the alleged explosion within
twenty minutes after the time when the Japanese army authori-
ties said it had occurred. When faced with this evidence the
Japanese army produced a brakeman from the train crew who
testified he had "felt a slight jar" when the train passed over
this point. But the army carefully preserved the three shattered
ties and some three or four feet of twisted rail and a bent fish-
plate, which were on exhibition for several weeks in the Mukden
office of General Honjo, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese
forces in Kwantung. One wondered why the Japanese army
went to such pains to justify its seizure of this Chinese territory
when their larger activities and objectives were so obvious.

There was further evidence in Mukden which indicated the

"REAL" START OF WORLD WAR n 191

Japanese methods used in seizing the capital city of Manchuria.
In searching through the files of Japanese photograph shops I
found a large collection of pictures showing Japanese in plain
clothes bearing rifles and wearing arm bands. Foreign business-
men testified that Mukden had been over-run for several days
prior to September 18, 1931, by large groups of Japanese
"tourists" wearing civilian clothes. The Japanese army had
smuggled thousands of camouflaged soldiers into the city in
readiness for the prearranged signal to occupy all strategic
places which they carried out according to plan at about 10
o'clock on the night of September 1 8, 1931. It is well to keep
this date in mind, as it was the real beginning of World War II.

I wrote a story about Japan's occupation of Mukden by an
army in plain clothes which I illustrated with the pictures I had
picked up in the Mukden shop. Within a few hours following its
publication in my paper in Shanghai, Japanese army representa-
tives searched all shops in Mukden and confiscated all pictures
showing "plain-clothes" soldiers.

An analysis of Japan's technique in seizing the Manchurian
provinces shows that Hitler was an imitator rather than the
originator of this particular method of stealing other people's
territory. Japan claimed that the action at Mukden was pro-
voked by the hostile act of a body of Chinese troops, but long
before the "incident" occurred, Mukden was filled with Japa-
nese troops in plain clothes; and further evidence showed that
trains carrying large bodies of Japanese troops in uniform had
already crossed the Korean border into Manchuria several hours
before the Mukden incident occurred.

The Japanese also had a battery of field guns of the howitzer
type mounted on concrete foundations in Mukden and long held
in readiness for the attack. The guns were located in a closely
guarded Japanese compound and were covered with large barn-
like structures with corrugated iron roofs. The guns were
trained on the Mukden arsenal The Chinese claimed the guns
had been smuggled in many months before in packing cases

192 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

labeled "mining machinery." On the day following the occupa-
tion an American acquaintance of mine, a businessman named
Kendall Graham, who resided in the neighborhood, observed
that the ends had been knocked out of the "barns" and most of
the corrugated roofs had been blown off by the concussion of
the guns. My friend, who was connected with an American oil
company, took me around to see these guns when I arrived
in Mukden.

It was in connection with Japan's campaign in Manchuria
that the world first began to hear stories of Japanese atrocities,
but generally they were disbelieved. We received frequent re-
ports of Japanese wiping out entire villages which were sus-
pected of harboring guerrillas, and the representative of the
League of Nations, Sefior Farrar, kept a record of these reports
and telegraphed a full account to Geneva. An account of one
atrocity which I myself investigated and filed was denied by
the Japanese Consul-General in Chicago. He disputed my figures
that 3,000 Chinese villagers had been massacred, and said there
had been no massacre, "because only three hundred had been
killed; 5

The Japanese had a staff of American and British propa-
gandists, headed by an Irishman, George Gorman, and an
American, Henry Kinney, who were on the job disputing all
correspondents' stories of which the Japanese disapproved.
Kinney, a former resident of Honolulu, who was married to a
Japanese woman, had long served as publicity agent for the
South Manchuria Railway. Gorman had served as editor of
Japanese propaganda papers in Peiping and elsewhere. Gorman's
nominal job was that of correspondent for the London Daily
Telegraph, which got him into all of the press conferences, but
his main job seemed to be that of apologist for the Japanese
army.

XVIII
Russia., China, and Japan

IT is APPARENTLY not generally known that Soviet Russia was
willing, in 1932, to enter into an agreement with the United
States and China for the purpose of preventing Japanese ex-
pansion on the continent of Asia whereby in the event of war
between Japan and any one of the three Powers, the other two
were to come to the rescue of the victim of Japanese aggression.

The proposed agreement was discussed informally by Rus-
sian, American, and Chinese delegates at Geneva when the
League of Nations was considering the Manchurian question.
The chief Soviet delegate was Maxim Litvinoff, Foreign Com-
missar, and the Chinese delegation was composed of Dr. W. W.
Yen, Dr. Wellington Koo and Quo Tai-chi.

Since America at that time had no diplomatic relations with
the Soviet Union, the attitude of the United States Government
toward the proposal was not expressed. But the discussions be-
tween China and Russia resulted in two significant develop-
ments. The first was that the two governments agreed immedi-
ately to resume diplomatic relations, which had been in abeyance
since 1927, when Chiang Kai-shek broke off relations with the
Soviets because of Russia's propagation of communism in China.
The second result of the informal conversations between Ameri-
can and Russian delegates at Geneva concerning their interests
in the Far East was that they paved the way for a resumption
of relations between the United States and Russia.

It is idle to speculate on what might or might not have hap-
pened if certain actions had or had not been taken on specific
occasions in the past. Whether the proposed agreement between
America, Russia, and China would have stopped Japan can only

193

194 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

be guessed at, but if it had succeeded, it might have caused other
nations with ambitions similar to those of Japan to hesitate be-
fore embarking on their subsequent adventures.

The disclosures concerning the proposed agreement were
contained in a manuscript written by Thomas F. F. Millard and
entitled "The Watch on the Pacific," but never published. Mr.
Millard was present at the Geneva meeting as an adviser to the
Chinese delegation to the League of Nations.

The fact that, as stated above, Russia and China particu-
larly Russia were willing, in 1932, to join with the United
States in a tripartite pact to block Japan is of tremendous interest
in World War II, because of Russia's position of neutrality in the
first four years of the war in the Pacific, involving Russia's
partners, the United States, Britain, and China. That Russia's
neutrality constituted America's most serious handicap in our
war with Japan is generally recognized. The Soviet Govern-
ment, in April, 1945, served notice on Japan of its intention to
abrogate the neutrality treaty upon its expiration in April, 1946.

According to Mr. Millard's disclosures, the purpose of the
proposed agreement, as stated in the preamble, was a to preserve
peace in the Far East and establish and maintain political and
economic stability in the Far East and the Western Pacific."
The text provided that if any of the territorial possessions of
America, Russia, or China, or their commercial and property
rights within the region covered by the agreement or the po-
litical rights and safety of their citizens residing in these regions,
were invaded or encroached upon by any Power outside of the
agreement, the signatory Powers would consult about measures
to be taken to preserve the status quo.

In addition to the main agreement providing for common
action in the Far East and the Western Pacific, provision was
made jfor three supplementary agreements to come into effect
automatically in the event of an outbreak of war with Japan.
The first of these, between the United States and Russia, pro-
vided that each should respect the existing territory of the other,
and that of China as well, unless otherwise agreed upon with

RUSSIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN 195

China's consent. Upon the satisfactory conclusion of the war
certain readjustments of territories held by Japan were to be
made. The southern half of Sakhalin Island was to be returned
to Russia. An equitable readjustment of Russia's railway interests
in Manchuria was to be made. The islands in the Pacific man-
dated to Japan at the Versailles Conference were to be at the
disposition of the United States Government. Any arrangements
in regard to the Philippines agreed upon by the United States
and the Philippines Government were to be respected. And
finally, the territory of Japan proper was to remain intact,
provided Japan agreed to a satisfactory limitation of her naval
power.

In the proposed agreement between the United States and
China, each country was to respect the territorial and political
independence of the other. The United States would support
China in abolishing special privileges and concessions within
her borders as well as all agreements with Japan which impaired
or infringed on China's sovereignty. The United States would
supply China with military and naval advisers to assist in organ-
izing China's military forces, and would supply aviation and
other military experts together with munitions, supplies, and
the financial assistance necessary to prosecute the war against
Japan. China would agree to cooperate in all ways, including
the use of China's ports for United States naval bases. She
would also respect in the peace terms the territorial allocations
agreed upon in the pact between the United States and Russia.

China and Russia would come to an equitable agreement be-
tween themselves on all matters in which the United States was
not directly interested, but such agreements were not to qualify
or contradict the terms of the United States pacts with Russia
and China.

A memorandum embodying the proposed U.SA.-Russia-
China pact which was submitted to the State, War, and Navy
departments expressed the opinion that the agreement would
checkmate any schemes of the Japanese military party to con-
quer China or take Russian territory in the Far East. It was

196 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

thought that the Japanese militarists would scarcely dare to chal-
lenge such a combination.

The reason the British Government was not included in the
tentative agreement was two-fold. First, it was not thought at
that time that Japan's program included an invasion of the South-
west Pacific, where Britain's colonial sphere existed; and sec-
ondly, Great Britain, when approached, raised objections to
certain phases of the proposed pact which she thought might
adversely affect certain efforts on her part to bring pressure on
Japan through the League of Nations, which had the Man-
churian question under consideration at the time.

One of the Soviet delegates at Geneva also proposed that
China should recognize Russian sovereignty in Outer Mongolia
and cede to Russia all Manchurian territory north of the Chinese
Eastern Railway. This would give the Russians a short cut to
the sea at Vladivostok and would permit Russia to develop
nearby Poset Bay at the junction of eastern Siberia, Manchuria,
and Korea, which is free from ice in winter. The section of
North Manchuria referred to, sparsely populated except by
Russian emigrants, had always been regarded as a Russian sphere
of influence in Manchuria.

It was obvious that Russia could not remain undisturbed in
the face of military activities in Manchuria, which by 1932-33
had reached the northern and western borders of Manchuria and
were being extended into Inner Mongolia, which flanked Soviet-
controlled Outer Mongolia on the east and south.

The Japanese did not conceal their animosities toward the
Soviet Union and its citizens resident in North Manchuria.
Russian Jews residing within the zone of the Chinese Eastern
Railway, many of whom had Soviet citizenship certificates, were
singled out for special attention of kidnapers in the pay of the
Japanese gendarmerie. The most notorious case was that of
Simeon Kaspe, son of Joseph Kaspe, owner of hotels, moving-
picture houses, and a jewelry store in Harbin. The elder Kaspe
had served as a cavalry officer in the Russian army in the Russo-

RUSSIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN 197

Japanese War, and afterward settled in Harbin. He prospered
and sent his children to Paris for their educations. The youngest
son, Simeon, became a talented pianist, and while in Paris
adopted French citizenship. He was well known in the Far East,
and had given recitals in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Manila. In 1933,
after the Japanese occupied North Manchuria, young Kaspe
was kidnaped by a gang of White Russian bandits in the pay
of the Japanese gendarmerie. The leader of the gang was a
White Russian named Radzoyevsky, who was head of a so-
called "Fascist Club" in Harbin, which cooperated with the
Japanese. The kidnaping plot was organized by the secretary-
interpreter of the gendarmerie, a Japanese named Nakamura,
who was assisted by a White Russian named Martinoff , who was
connected with the Harbin police department. After young
Kaspe was kidnaped and taken to a secret hiding place on the
outskirts of Harbin, a letter was sent to the father demanding
a ransom of $300,000. The father countered with an offer of
a smaller amount, and notified the French Consul-General.

The French Vice-Consul, M. Chambon, demanded young
Kaspe's release and presented the Japanese consular authorities
with indisputable evidence of the connivance of the Japanese
gendarmerie in the kidnaping plot. The White Russian fascist
papers in Harbin, under Japanese inspiration, immediately
started a campaign against the French consular official, calling
him a "communist Jew." The Japanese authorities procrastinated
and did nothing to apprehend the kidnapers, who, fearing com-
plications, reduced their ransom demand. In previous kidnaping
cases the payment of ransoms had not always resulted in the
release of victims, and often had merely led to further demands
for money. Hence, upon the advice of the French Vice-Consul,
the elder Kaspe refused to pay the ransom whereupon the
bandits cut off their victim's ears and sent them to the bereaved
parent. After holding and torturing young Kaspe for ninety-five
days the bandits shot Mm.

The case aroused such widespread indignation among the
people of Harbin that almost the entire community, including

198 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Russians, Chinese, and Koreans, turned out for the funeral, the
largest ever held in that city. The case received so much pub-
licity in the Far Eastern press that the Tokyo Government,
under French pressure, ordered the arrest of the six White
Russian criminals who were involved in the kidnaping plot.

Since the Japanese had just occupied the district, the Chinese
judicial authorities were still functioning in Harbin, which was
within the railway zone. Despite attempts to intimidate the
court through attacks published in the fascist papers, the Chi-
nese court courageously found the six White Russian bandits
guilty and sentenced four of them to death and two to life
imprisonment. Harbin rejoiced at the verdict; but the rejoicing
was short-lived. The head of the Japanese gendarmerie inter-
vened, had the presiding Chinese judge arrested and ordered
the sentences set aside. Six months later a special panel of three
Japanese judges dismissed the case and ordered the criminals
released, on the ground that they had "acted from patriotic
motives." The Japanese-controlled fascist paper, published in
the Russian language, commenting on the verdict, described the
kidnapers as "honest and excellent citizens, real Russian patriots,
who acted not from motives of personal gain, but purely for
the purpose of obtaining funds for anti-communist organizations
to continue their fight against Bolshevism."

Two papers run by Britons in Harbin, the Harbin Herald,
edited by Lenox Simpson, and the Harbin Observer, edited by
B. Hayton Fleet, which criticized the Japanese court action,
were confiscated by the Japanese authorities, and the editors
were expelled from Manchuria.

The reign of terror which followed the Japanese occupation
spread all over Manchuria and was accompanied by wholesale
kidnapings of Russian Jews and Chinese. The Russian Jews were
invariably charged with communistic activities and membership
in the Third International.

Japanese animosities against the Soviet Union were further
increased by the action of the Soviet authorities in permitting
a Chinese general and his army to "escape" from Manchuria,

RUSSIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN 199

with their arms, into Soviet territory and later to re-enter Chi-
nese territory in Sinkiang, far to the northwest. The Chinese
general in question was a picturesque figure named Ma Chan-
shan. General Ma had first held up and defeated the vanguard
of the Japanese invaders at the Nonni River, on the southern
border of the Russian sphere in North Manchuria. Owing to a
shortage of ammunition General Ma was compelled, however,*
to withdraw his forces into the Hinghan Mountains along the
Amur River. Since this territory was practically inaccessible
until roads could be constructed, the Japanese decided to try
diplomacy. General Kenji Doihara, known as Japan's "master
of intrigue," was sent to Harbin to negotiate with General Ma.
After several meetings General Ma consented to "go over" to
the Japanese, providing the Japanese would appoint him Min-
ister of War in the new Manchukuo Government, and in addi-
tion provide him with a million dollars in gold bullion with
which to re-equip his army.

In the meantime I had made a trip with a group of American
correspondents to the frontier town of Tsitsihar, capital of
Heilungkiang Province, to interview General Ma, who in fight-
ing his rearguard action against the Japs had crossed the Chinese
Eastern Railway to the west of Harbin.

We made the trip from Anganchi, the junction point on the
Chinese Eastern line to Tsitsihar, over a narrow-gauge railway
and reached General Ma's headquarters only about an hour
before his evacuation of the city for a further withdrawal
toward the Hinghan Mountains. He told us he planned ulti-
mately to establish his headquarters at the town of Aigun, which
is opposite the old Russian outpost of Blagoveshchensk on the
upper Amur.

General Ma was small in stature, and unlike most Chinese
he had a heavy beard with the ends of his mustache drooping
down two or three inches.

Since we had only about an hour to interview the general,
and our questions and his replies had to be alternately translated

200 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Into Chinese and English, we were anxious to get on with the
interview. We had proceeded only about ten minutes and were
looking nervously at our watches when our conversation was
made inaudible by the striking of a large "grandfather's" type
clock standing In the corner of the room. The clock was
equipped with a heavy sonorous gong, with chimes, and it
seemed to take an interminable time to strike the hour, which
was midnight. All questions ceased and the interview was in abey-
ance as we looked helplessly at each other until the clock had
finished. It finally ceased striking and we revived the interview
for a couple of minutes, when we were all startled again by
another "boom" as a similar clock in an adjoining room started
striking. Once more we sat helplessly until it had finished, a
matter of several minutes. Again we resumed the interview
and again we were Interrupted by another clock in another
near-by room. The interview finally had to be cut short, as six
clocks In various parts of the large compound struck; they had
obviously been set to strike two or three minutes apart. Before
we left the room I went over to the first clock to examine its
mechanism. Across the face in English were the words "Made
In Germany."

The Japanese finally agreed to General Ma's terms, and he
went to Hsinking (old name Changchun) , the new Manchukuo
capital, but when he had received the money he secretly rejoined
his troops In the Hinghan Mountains and again defied the Japa-
nese invaders. The Japanese at once sent a large force into North
Manchuria and succeeded in defeating a contingent of General
Ma's troops. In checking over the Chinese bodies left on the
field, following the Chinese withdrawal, the Japanese found a
corpse attired in the uniform of a general. Near the body was
a dead Mongolian pony similar to that usually ridden by Gen-
eral Ma Chan-shan, and, what was even more convincing, the
Japanese found a saddle-bag containing papers bearing the
signature of the general, and several of the gold bars which the
Japanese army had given him to use In equipping his troops.

Japanese army officers were so elated that they sent a group

RUSSIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN 2OI

of high officials bearing the uniform and other accouteraients of
the "deceased" Chinese commander to Tokyo where they were
pridefully exhibited before Hirohito, the Son of Heaven. These
formalities, in which General Doihara participated, gave General
Ma the time he needed to transfer practically his entire army
across the Amur to Blagoveshchensk on the Soviet side of the
line, where the Chinese soldiers were entrained for Sinkiang
Province. General Ma then dispatched a telegram to General-
issimo Chiang Kai-shek at Nanking apprising him of the
incident.

Aside from the embarrassment caused the Japanese by Gen-
eral Ma's sensational exploit, the Japanese army was placed in a
curious predicament involving the prestige or "face" of the
Emperor. Since Hirohito had been told that General Ma Chan-
shan was dead, the Son of Heaven, obviously, could not be told
that the Imperial Army had made a mistake and that the foxy
Chinese general had outwitted them and escaped to Russia. The
Japanese solved the impasse by permanently banning the use of
General Ma's name in any Japanese paper. In the meantime, Gen-
eral Ma had long since been actively opposing the Japanese in
Suiyuan Province, but with no mention whatsoever in any Japa-
nese communique. General Doihara, whose intrigue back-fired,
lost face and after suffering near defeat by the Chinese forces
on the Yellow River, was transferred to the Japanese Air Force.

XIX

Vladivostok

WHEN THE JAPANESE had eliminated the last organized Chi-
nese resistance in Manchuria and the "story" was dead so far
as the American and British newspapers were concerned, I
decided (in 1935) to investigate the possibility of making a trip
to the Soviet Far East.

I had become acquainted with Soviet Ambassador Bogomo-
lov and his Counsellor of Embassy, Spilvanek, through my cov-
erage of a White Russian attempt to seize the Soviet consulate
in Shanghai in 1928. Emboldened by Chiang Kai-shek's action
in breaking off relations with the Soviets, a group of about 150
former Cossack soldiers who resided in the French Concession
at Shanghai attempted to seize the Soviet consulate and set up
a "White" Russian government in the International Settlement.

The news that an attempt was to be made to seize and
occupy the Soviet consulate spread through the city, and a large
crowd gathered, many of them being Russian women emigrees.
The consular building was located directly across the street from
the Astor House, and the lobby and windows of the hotel were
filled with guests watching the show. The excitement began
when a Russian woman hurled a brick through one of the
windows of the consulate and at the same time uttered a loud
scream. This apparently was the signal for action, as the mob
closed in and bombarded the building with rocks, bricks, and
other missiles, breaking most of the first-story and basement
windows.

Despite the fact that neither the British nor the French police
authorities interfered, the plot failed, thanks to the determined
resistance of Soviet Consul Koslovsky and a handful of Soviet

202

VLADIVOSTOK 203

consular officials who barricaded themselves in the building. At
the height of the rioting a member of the White Russian con-
tingent, all of whom were attired in their old Czarist uniforms,
managed to reach the door of the consulate and attempted to
wrench the sickle and hammer from the iron griliwork. He re-
ceived a bullet through his chest it was fired through the
door by one of the defenders and died in the street. This took
the fight out of the "White Guards," and after breaking a few
more windows they dispersed before the belated arrival of the
police. No arrests were made.

The Soviet Ambassador was pleased with my coverage of
the story, and became a good source of news throughout the
remainder of his stay in the Far East. I decided to capitalize on
my acquaintance, and asked the Ambassador for a passport visa
to visit Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, respectively metropolis
and political capital of Soviet Siberia. Bogomolov promised to
cable Moscow, but did not hold out much hope. The cable cost
me $50, and after a wait of nearly a month I was informed that
my application had been rejected.

In expectation of making the trip, I also applied to the Japa-
nese for a visa to travel across the new state of Manchukuoj this
was necessary in order to reach the Trans-Siberian Railway at
Chita. The Japanese Consul said he also would have to cable the
new Manchukuo capital at Hsinking for permission. When I
called a few days later for a reply, the answer was an emphatic
"No." I then learned that the Japanese army had kept a "black-
list" of all correspondents who had criticized the Japanese oc-
cupation of Manchuria, and had permanently barred them from
visiting the puppet state. The way seemed to be blocked for my
contemplated trip to Siberia.

Some weeks later the Shanghai manager of the Soviet official
travel agency, Intourist, told me that I might be able to visit
Siberia if I would apply for a six-month tourist traveling permit
to visit the November anniversary celebration of the Soviet
Union in Red Square, Moscow. He told me that if I could obtain
a visa to visit Moscow, it might be possible to stop over in

204 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Siberia on the way. He also told me that a Chinese cargo ship,
being loaded with tea in Shanghai Harbor, was shortly sailing
for Vladivostok. I decided to make another attempt, and sent
another $50 cable to Moscow. This time the reply was favorable,
and I received my passport visa and a six-month travel permit,
The fee for the visa was $65, making the total cost of my admis-
sion to Russia $165. Previously I had regarded our State De-
partment's charge of $10 for a passport as exorbitant.

Before sailing I was told by the Intourist representative that
it was customary for travelers in Russia to purchase in advance
books of coupons for use in payment for service in hotels, dining
cars, and sleeping cars. I discovered later that the charges for
hotel and express-train services were made at "official" exchange
rate, whereas It was possible for travelers, after entering the
Soviet Union, to purchase "cheap" roubles at black exchange
markets for as many as seventy or eighty for an American dollar.
The official rate was about eight roubles for an American dollar.
Later, in Vladivostok, It was whispered to me that I could ex-
change my American dollars for roubles at the rate of seventy
roubles for one United States dollar, but I refrained from
patronizing the black market. Despite the fact that It was a
criminal offense to purchase "cheap" roubles, I was frequently
approached by Russians who offered to sell them at rates ranging
from thirty to fifty for one American dollar. Once I was ap-
proached by a dealer in cheap roubles during the intermission
at the ballet at the Bolshol Theater In Moscow.

I did not realize the extent of Soviet nervousness regarding
the crisis with Japan until I was aboard the Chinese cargo ship,
loaded with tea, scheduled to sail immediately for Vladivostok.
The cargo holds of the io,ooo-ton freighter were not only
filled with cases of tea but thousands of additional cases were
piled on the decks and covered with tarpaulins almost to the
tops of the smokestacks. The Russian taste for tea, which dates
from the time of Ghenghis Khan, is almost equal to that of the
Chinese for their native drink. The Russians were taking no
chances on being cut off from their favorite beverage in the

VLADIVOSTOK 205

event of a war with Japan. But there was further evidence
aboard the ship of Soviet expectancy of war with the Nipponese.
The limited passenger space was filled to overflowing with
Soviet officials and families who were hurrying home so as not
to be cut off in the Far East,

Among the passengers were several members of the Soviet
oil trust who had assisted the Chinese in establishing a Chinese-
Soviet oil monopoly, which had failed because the monopoly
could not compete with the American and Anglo-Dutch com-
panies which obtained their oil from California and the Nether-
lands Indies. The big installation which was built at Shanghai
had been taken over by the Standard Vacuum and Dutch Shell
at a bargain and the Soviet oil men [and their families] were
going home.

Even more convincing evidence of the jittery state of
Soviet nerves developed after the ship sailed. I asked the captain,
a native of Sweden, how long it would require us to make the
trip from Shanghai to Vladivostok. He replied, "Ordinarily
about five days, but much longer this time." He then whispered
to me that the Japanese imperial fleet was holding maneuvers
in the Japan Sea, and in consequence he had received instruc-
tions not to sail directly for Vladivostok but to make a wide
detour into the Pacific around Japan and northward in the direc-
tion of the Aleutians, thence westward between Hokkaido, the
most northern Japanese island, and Sakhalin to the Siberian
coast, and then southwestward again within Russian territorial
waters directly to Vladivostok, thereby skirting the main Japa-
nese islands. The sea was calm and the trip was uneventful, but
instead of the five days ordinarily required for travel by sea
from Shanghai to Vladivostok, this voyage required twelve days.

I know of no more delightful trip in the world than a peace-
time cruise about the Japanese islands. For most of the coastline
the tree-covered mountains come down directly to the sea, with
occasional breaks in the wall through which one obtains a
glimpse of narrow green valleys and often little doll-house
villages and temples. On two or three occasions we observed

206 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

waterfalls cascading down the steep cliffs Into the sea. One
waterfall in particular will always remain in my memory. Seen
from the sea, it appeared to be no more than a few yards in
width but hundreds of feet in height. In the early morning it
looked like a strand of white silk or molten silver waving in the
breeze. It fell directly into the sea, sending up a cloud of spray
in which a rainbow played.

I found that Vladivostok apparently had changed little,
physically, from the appearance of the city when the American
troops evacuated the port following our Siberian expedition in
World War L Although many years had passed, the sidewalks
and streets contained the same holes, only deeper perhaps, which
were there when our boys marched down to the jetty to em-
bark for home following America's first adventure into Russian
politics. The store fronts along most of the streets were still
boarded up.

My first shock upon the landing of our steamer was to ob-
serve that most of the stevedores or dock workers were women.
They were much better physical specimens than were the men
working on the job. The foreman was a woman. My next shock
came when a customs officer asked to see my passport, and
examined my baggage. The official was also a woman. When I
recovered my composure I addressed fyer in my very best (but
limited) Russian; I had been studying the language, with indif-
ferent success, for about three months. I noticed a puzzled look
on her face, but she laughed and said (in English), "Please tell
me what you want, and I will help you."

Most of the shops were closed; only one department store
had been opened. I noticed that practically all of the customers
who jammed the one department store were Koreans; they
seemed to be the only residents possessing any money.

The shabby appearance of the town, however, did not
mean that it was dead. On the contrary, Vladivostok was a hive
of military activity. After resuming control of the city follow-
ing the evacuation of the Japanese in 1922-23, the Soviet author!-

VLADIVOSTOK 20y

ties did little to improve the port for more than ten years. Then
they suddenly awoke to the realization that pious wishes and
propaganda would not stem the Japanese tide of conquest which
was sweeping across Manchuria and pressing against the Siberian,
frontier from the Ussuri and Amur rivers to the deserts of
Mongolia.

The old fortifications which the Czar had constructed at
Vladivostok for the defense of Russia's "Jewel of the Eastern
Sea" became worthless after the Allied (Anglo-American- Japa-
nese) intervention in Siberia. The Japanese, who overlook
nothing, had thoroughly mapped the terrain, particularly that
facing Korea and Manchuria. After the Japanese troops finally
evacuated the area as a result of American pressure at the Wash-
ington Arms Conference of 1922, the Soviets, in order to show
their peaceful intentions toward both China and Japan, dismantled
all of the old Czarist fortifications and shipped the guns inland to
serve as scrap in the new iron foundries of European Russia.

Now the Soviet authorities were trying to make up for their
delay in rebuilding Vladivostok's defenses. Voroshilov, Minister
of War, went to Vladivostok and surveyed the situation. The
old Vladivostok iron works and ship-building plant was taken
over and rejuvenated. Long rows of wooden barracks were
constructed to house thousands of technicians and workers
shipped to the Far East from European Russia. Renamed the
Voroshilov Iron Works, the plant was converted to the con-
struction, or rather the assembly, of submarines. They were
built in sections in European Russia or in Germany and shipped
over the Trans-Siberian Railway, or by sea to the Voroshilov
Iron Works, where they were put together. I counted a half
dozen of these sleek under-water craft cruising and maneuvering
in the harbor. I was told in Tokyo several weeks later when I
returned from Russia that the Russians had thirty subs based at
Vladivostok at that time. The Japanese were watching the situa-
tion closely, and visitors arriving in Tokyo from Europe by the
Trans-Siberian Railway were subjected to near third-degree
questioning by Japanese newspapermen and government offi-

208 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

cials In an effort to find out what the traveler had seen while
crossing Siberia.

Since the Russians are experts in the art of psychological
warfare, I often wondered whether much of their war prepara-
tion was not purposely displayed for its effect on the Japanese.
For example, travelers along the Trans-Siberian Railway be-
tween Vladivostok and Khabarovsk always reported seeing large
numbers of giant planes standing on air fields near the railway.
I probably saw a half dozen of these giant planes, but I could
well imagine that when the reports reached Tokyo the half
dozen planes became hundreds.

The initial impression created upon the visitor newly ar-
rived at Vladivostok was the nervousness, verging almost on
hysteria, which prevailed among the 208,000 population of the
port. Practically every man, woman, and child carried a gas
mask or kept one within reach. At night groups of people could
be seen standing at street intersections under the heavily shaded
street lamps listening to instructions by OGPU officers, on
"what to do in the event of a Japanese air raid."

One night the manager of Intourist took me in his new
Soviet-made "Ford" to a high hill overlooking a deep valley on
the outskirts of the city. Powerful searchlights trained on a
large excavation project gave the impression of an inferno as
thousands of laborers were driving a fifteen-mile tunnel under
the Vladivostok hills. The announced purpose was to facilitate
rail communication from the hinterland through the city to
tidewater. In Moscow a few weeks later a German Embassy
attache, whom I had known previously in Tientsin, told me
that the tunnel was being constructed for another purpose, to
serve as a bomb-proof shelter for the population in the event
of war with Japan. Elsewhere I was assured that the "tunnel"
was actually an underground airdrome.

On another trip to the outskirts of the city my Intourist
guide pointed out to me a large clearing on the wooded slopes
of Russian Island in the harbor. My guide said it was the site

VLADIVOSTOK 2 09

of new fortifications being rushed to completion. Numerous
long-range coast-defense guns had been installed in the hills,
and special attention had been paid to the defenses on the land
side, to prevent an attack from that direction. A large radio
station on Russian Island, originally built by General Graves for
the use of our American troops during the intervention, had
been reconstructed and was in operation.

Visits to other hilltops disclosed numerous cuttings for new
railway sidings and other larger clearings for air fields. Planes
were constantly in the air, day and night, on patrol duty. I once
counted 160 Soviet planes in the air at one time. A new refrig-
eration plant in the harbor area provided facilities for preparing
and preserving fish in ton lots, obviously for feeding an army.
An American company was also constructing a large modem
cannery for the Soviet Fishery Bureau. Large cellars were under
construction, for storage of vegetables, fruits, and dairy
products.

One morning I was astonished to see thousands of workers
engaged in transforming the street-railway tracks to broad
gauge in order that they could be used for railway transport in
an emergency. I was told that the workers, including many
women welders armed with blow-torches, were from the
Voroshilov Iron Works and that they had "donated" their holi-
day in order that the street railway could be changed to railway
gauge.

All water and gas mains were being sunk to eight or ten
feet underground as protection from air-bombing by the Japa-
nese, and an underground aqueduct eighteen miles long was
under construction to provide an auxiliary supply in case of
need. Two electric power plants were under construction. I was
also shown the ruins" of a once-imposing church which had been
dynamited to make way for a projected summer hotel and resort
for workers and soldiers. The most ambitious project of all, the
double-tracking of the Trans-Siberian Railway from the Urals

2IO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

to the Pacific, had not yet reached Vladivostok This monu-
mental job was being pushed through with forced labor polit-
ical prisoners from the Ukraine.

Mr. Meiinkoff, representative of the Narcomindel or Foreign
Office, complained, when I visited him, that he could not get
the roof of his house repaired because all carpenters were em-
ployed on the tunnel job. "In Manchuria I could get a Chinese
carpenter to do the job in a few hours," he said. But in Vladivos-
tok there was no provision in the "five-year plan" for such small
private jobs. Everything had to be subordinated to the main
job. On one occasion it was necessary to import Chinese laborers
from Manchuria to repair and pave a street about the railway
station in preparation for the November Tenth Celebration.
There were not enough Soviet laborers available even for
this job.

Thousands of men, women and children, enforced emigrants
from the Ukraine, were camped in primitive shacks and lean-
tos for several blocks about the. railway station, awaiting the
construction or repair of houses. Similar scenes were presented
at practically all railway stations along the route as far as Lake
Baikal. All railway stations were jammed with people who had
no other place to sleep.

Siberia was practically without modem roads, and worse,
was without the mechanical means or trained engineering per-
sonnel with knowledge or experience in modern road construc-
tion. Having lived in China for many years, where modern roads
were almost unknown until 1927, I was astonished to find that
Russia, particularly Siberia, was even behind China in modern
roads. When I mentioned the lack of roads the average Russian
would shrug his shoulders and say that since the ground was
frozen for a considerable part of the year "roads really were not
necessary." However, some roads were being built; one twenty-
five miles long was under construction to a town on the Vladi-
vostok peninsula. Some weeks later I was standing next to a

VLADIVOSTOK 2 1 1

high German diplomat viewing the November Tenth military
show in Red Square when a number of the new heavy Soviet
tanks or "land battleships'* lumbered by. I asked the German
what he thought of them. He replied, "They would bog down
in the Russian mud ten miles outside of Moscow." He appeared
to be unaware of the Russian custom of waging war in the
winter when the ground and rivers are frozen.

I was told that major effort in Vladivostok was being exerted
in the field of popular education, but I was shown only two
schools, one for children whose mothers worked at the Voro-
shilov Iron Works. The modern residence where this school
was located had previously belonged to a member of the old
American consulate. The other school, known as the Korean
University, to which I was taken, was said to be the only one
in existence where the ancient Korean language was taught. This
statement was not strictly correct, however, as American mis-
sionaries in Korea, despite Japanese military opposition, used
the Korean language in their schools until the Korean language
was definitely outlawed by the Japanese Governor-General,
some time before World War II. While visiting the Korean
University at Vladivostok I was shown one room where some
fifty students were engaged in translating articles and pamphlets
into the Korean language. I was told that the booklets were being
smuggled into Korea. Later, after Stalin signed the four-point
non-aggression pact with Japan in 1941, the Russians not only
closed the Korean University but moved a considerable portion
of the -Korean population from the Vladivostok area further
west to some undisclosed point in Central Asia.

One day I visited a parade ground, and was surprised to
see a regiment of Korean troops .drilling and maneuvering tinder
Soviet officers. I was told that the Korean regiment was part of
the Soviet border-defense force. Later, in the vicinity of Lake
Baikal, I observed even larger bodies of Oriental troops wearing
the uniform of the Soviet army.

A vacant block near the hotel was jammed every morning

212 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

by thousands of men and women engaged in bartering articles
of clothing, shoes, underwear, and occasionally a shabby fur
coat, for a few kopeks of depreciated paper currency with
which to purchase bread and vegetables. This "market" was ap-
parently wanked at by the authorities or was not considered
"trading for profit" under the Soviet law.

The ancient Versailles Hotel still bore the name and some
remnants of the opulence It had possessed in more prosperous
Czarist days. It reminded me of a once aristocratic hostelry in
an American town which had enjoyed and then been by-passed
by an oil or mining boom. The condition of the sanitary
plumbing was something to be forgotten as soon as possible after
use. As for the wash-basins and bathtubs, I am willing to wager
that I didn't find in all Siberia a half dozen that possessed plugs.
On my first morning in Khabarovsk I asked the maid about
facilities for taking a bath. She went away and returned with a
tin can containing about a gallon of hot water. Motioning to me
to remove my pajamas, she started to pour the water on my head
so it would run down over my body in the fashion of a shower,
I decided to forgo the luxury of a bath until I reached Moscow.

Every hotel was compelled by law to keep a large black book
for use of the guests in making complaints. The manager said
that the official inspector of hotels from Moscow was accus-
tomed to drop in unannounced and demand the "black book"
for a perusal of complaints noted down by the guests. While in
Vladivostok I complained on several occasions of the lack of
fish, although several varieties were always listed on the menu.
The head waiter immediately produced the familiar black book.
Finally I took it, and selecting a blank page wrote down all of
the statistics I could remember that the Fishery Bureau had
given me about Vladivostok's fish production. Under the figures
I wrote, "In view of Vladivostok's great fish production, why
can't I have some fish for breakfast?" Later I was visited by a
delegation, including the manager, dining-room steward and
chief bookkeeper, who explained to me that there had been a
breakdown in the fishery delivery service. I was assured that

VLADIVOSTOK 2 1 3

the matter would be rectified when the inspector arrive4 from
Moscow.

Vladivostok has a delightful spring, summer, and autumn
climate, but the same cannot be said of winter, which is cold,
blustery, and changeable. A balmy, invigorating morning might
be followed by a cold, raw afternoon that made a fur-lined over-
coat a necessity. The officials at Vladivostok had elaborate plans
for developing Vladivostok as a summer resort, similar to the
famous resorts on the Caspian and Black seas, but war prepara-
tions doubtless intervened.

While in Vladivostok I listened to many accounts of ambi-
tious development projects, one of which nearly caused compli-
cations with the Japanese. It also had its humorous elements.

This project was for the construction of a causeway or dam
connecting northern Sakhalin Island with the mainland, just
north of the mouth of the Amur River. The engineer claimed
that the cold weather which prevailed along the coast of the
Maritime Province of Siberia was due to a cold ocean current
from the Sea of Okhotsk which flowed southward along the
coast of the Maritime Province. He argued that this frigid cur-
rent was responsible for the disagreeable climate which prevails
along the southern Siberian coast, and that by damming the
narrow strait between Sakhalin Island and the coast, the cold
current would be diverted away from Siberia and would flow
down along the east side of Japan. The effect of this, according
to his analysis, would be to produce a warmer climate along the
Siberian coast and at the same time to transform the Japanese
islands, particularly the northern islands of Hokkaido and Hon-
shu, into arctic territories which the Japanese population would
find unendurable.

News of this novel Russian solution of the Japanese prob-
lem, which would congeal them wholesale, naturally reached
Japan and created a tremendous commotion. It was only one
of many such rumors which were constantly coming out of
Siberia and circulating among the Japanese in exaggerated form.

214 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

I often wondered if this was not an astute form of Russian
psychological warfare.

Also, there was no questioning the fact that the Japanese were
using these alleged threats from Siberia to stimulate their own
war psychology and divert the minds of the Japanese people
away from the critical economic situation then prevailing
throughout most of Japan.

XX
Across Siberia

THE AWAKENING OF THE Russian Bear to the necessity of de-
fending Siberia now was evident on all sides. The activities of
every individual and the use of every resource in the land were
directed, voluntarily or forcibly, toward the major objective,
the saving of Siberia from the "makakas," the Russian word for
monkey, used as a slang name for the Japanese.

I was amazed to observe at first hand the Soviet Union's
method of handling labor. I inquired of my Intourist guide, a
young woman member of the Komsomols, or Communist Youth
Organization, why all of the labor groups, often numbering as
many as a thousand men, engaged in double-tracking the Trans-
Siberian Railway, were always bossed by armed guards of the
OGPU. These armed guards were always recognized by their
black leather coats and trousers and Cossack-style high leather
boots, and they always carried a sub-machine gun. The clothing
worn by the laborers was shabby, and in many cases showed
evidence of a former more opulent existence on the part of the
wearer. This was particularly true of fur caps, and fur lapels
on their threadbare coats, from which most of the hair had
been worn away. A fur cap has always been a sure sign of luxury
in Russia, whether in Czarist or modern Communist days.

When the train stopped, as it often did, where work was in
progress, the men would swarm about me as I stepped from the
express car; they seemed to know instinctively I was an "Ameri-
kansky," and beg for "toboc." My extra supply, bought in
Shanghai, was quickly exhausted. Once a man who knew some
English and obviously had seen better days dropped to his knees,
kowtowed, and begged me for some tobacco, and when I

215

2l6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

handed him my half-empty tin he embraced me so enthusiasti-
cally that all the passengers cheered.

When I asked my Intourist guide for information about the
armed guards, she always shrugged her shoulders and in her
limited English replied, "political criminals." And so they were
largely, as I was later informed, from the Ukraine, where
there had been mass opposition to Stalin's collective farm pro-
gram. I was told that the farmers had slaughtered their cattle
and staged a great feast, rather than surrender the cattle to the
state, and that a vast and devastating famine had resulted. The
usual charges against these men were ownership of land and
employment of labor for profit. They were the famous "kulaks,"
now constituting an oppressed class in the "classless" society
of the U.S.S.R.

In the railway yards at Chita, junction point where the
Chinese Eastern Railway branched off toward Manchuria from
the main or Amur line of the Trans-Siberian, I saw long lines
of freight cars, literally thousands of them, flat cars, gondolas,
and closed cars. The flat cars and gondolas were loaded with
trucks, tractors, combines, and miscellaneous military equip-
ment. The closed cars were filled with human cargo, largely
men, who were being shipped from European Russia to Siberia
to work on various construction and defense jobs, I noticed
that all of the closed freight cars were locked on the outside
and that the faces which jammed the little windows in the upper
corners were wan and pale. Armed OGPU guards constantly
patrolled between the long lines of cars. I was told that the
prisoners could regain their citizenship by conscientious work
for a certain period, usually five years, But thousands, par-
ticularly those of advanced years, obviously would not be able
to live out the five-year period. I frequently saw bodies of
those who had dropped from exhaustion or illness lying along-
side the railway track.

A study of Russian history reveals that there have been
many forced mass migrations of peoples within the borders of
the country. The Yakut nation or tribe, which occupies most

ACROSS SIBERIA 217

>f the rich Lena River Valley in Siberia, has a tradition that
ts people are of Turkish origin and were moved in a mass from
Central Asia by some early conqueror, perhaps Genghis Khan
>r Tamerlane. Present-day Yakuts, who number some 300,000,
:laim that they are "cousins" of American Indians, whom they
jreatly resemble. Yakutsk, the capital of the Yakut nation, is on
:he Alaska-Siberian air route connecting the United States and
Canada with the Soviet Union, and in the early years of
tVorld War II had aroused the interest of American travelers.
They have reported that the Yakuts are an enterprising race and
control within their "republic" much of the gold, platinum,
furs, and other valuable raw products of Siberia which are
shipped abroad to help balance Russia's war economy. Educated
members of the tribe, whom I met on the train in the vicinity
of Lake Baikal and also in Manchuria, were friendly toward
Americans and constantly asked questions about their American
fndian "cousins."

There was still another example of forced "mass migration"
of thousands of Russians in the triangular area fronting on Man-
churia, located to the" west of Khabarovsk, capital of Siberia.
The territory, known as the Biro-Bidjhan district (named for
two rivers), was set aside by the Soviet Government as a self-
governing "colony" for the resettlement of Russian Jews. Most
of the Jews in the district had been transported there from the
towns and villages of the Ukraine and White Russia. But they
fared better than the labor gangs along the railroad in that they
retained their political rights and enjoyed autonomy in the direc-
tion of the local administration of the district. The editor of
the party newspaper in Khabarovsk told me that the Jewish
colony "was similar to the Palestine colony which Great Britain
had fostered," and that a chief object of the Soviet Government
in establishing the district was to divert the attention of Russian
Jews from the British-fostered Zionist movement in Palestine,
which had profoundly impressed the millions of Russian Jews.
The secretary of the Siberian Jewish colony informed me that

2l8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Jewish organizations in New York had contributed considerable
sums to the Russian project. Incidentally, the official Handbook
of the Soviet Union, printed in English, listed more than a dozen
types of Jews, some of them classed among the most primitive
tribes of the country.

I learned from a Soviet army officer, whom I met on the
train, that the chief objective of the Government in establishing
the Biro-Bid jhan Jewish colony was strategic. Due to its location
directly to the west of Khabarovsk, capital of Siberia, the district
was intended to provide an important agricultural and industrial
base for the support of the Far Eastern Red Army, headquar-
tered in eastern Siberia. Due to the location of the Jewish colony
along the Amur adjacent to the new Japanese state of Man-
chukuo, it would be impossible for a Japanese army to attack
Khabarovsk without invading the Jewish colony, causing reper-
cussions throughout the Jewish world somewhat similar to
Hitler's attack on the Jews in Europe. Later when the Jews
showed a disinclination to engage in "collective" farming in the
new colony, the Soviet Government moved into the area several
thousand Korean farmers from the Vladivostok area. Russian
officials at Khabarovsk said there was considerable intermarriage
between the Jewish colonists and the Koreans, leading inevitably
to the creation of a new race, as was happening in North Man-
churia and the Lake Baikal district, where there was consider-
able intermarriage between Russians, Chinese, and Mongolians,
a process which had been going on since the arrival of the
Russians in the Far East several centuries ago.

This vast area, stretching from the Pacific to the Urals, con-
stituting one of the world's last frontiers, is a "melting pot" of
races to such an extent that one hears a common statement in
Russia that the complexion of the population shades off from
white to yellow as one travels eastward from Moscow toward
Siberia, and from white to brown as one travels southward
toward the Caucusus, and that there is no perceptible dividing
line between the colors. I was told by a well educated Russian
woman in Harbin who had traveled extensively in Mongolia and

ACROSS SIBERIA 219

eastern Siberia that there are eighteen more or less distinct racial
groups or "tribes" within the present confines of the U.S.S.R.,
and that the non-white groups predominate in numbers over the
white population. The existence of this situation had made it nec-
essary for the Soviet Government to pay special attention to
so-called "racial" issues and to enact legislation designed to pre-
vent racial clashes. However, any suggestion that the Soviet
Union has solved the racial issue is a statement of a hope, rather
than an actuality. There are deep racial animosities in Russia,
particularly in Asiatic Russia, which, for the present, are somno-
lent but require only a spark to ignite.

Siberia is a vast treasure house of natural resources, com-
parable to Canada, with the top tier of our northwestern States
added for good measure. From the standpoint of agricultural
and dairying potentialities, North Manchuria and parts of
Mongolia greatly resemble northern Michigan, Minnesota, and
the Dakotas. At the time of Japan's seizure of Manchuria, White
Russian communities along the Siberian border were supplying
butter and other dairy products to the large China coast cities
of Dairen, Tientsin, Tsingtao, and Shanghai. For a distance of
3,ooo-odd miles from the Urals to the Pacific, the country is
largely wooded. It is a common saying in Siberia that in the
never-ending struggle between man and trees, the trees always
seem to be winning. As one travels westward from Vladivostok,
the forests are chiefly of birch, which the Russians have learned
to carve into innumerable articles. The birch forests along the
Ussuri shade off to limitless forests of virgin pine and spruce,
resembling the forests of North America before they were
devastated by the lumber and pulp mills. At intervals one sees
little clearings, chiefly in the river valleys, with villages of log
or sod houses, similar to our early West. Generally the country
is as primitive as our early explorers and settlers found the upper
Mississippi and its tributaries. In many places the forests have
encroached so closely on the railway that the branches sweep
the train windows.

220 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

In Khabarovsk I visited an agricultural fair which might have
been held in one of our Middle Western county seats a quarter
of a century ago. There were long rows of tables and booths
displaying agricultural products and preserved fruits and
vegetables. Most of the fruits were of the small or berry variety,
including cranberries which grow in abundance in the Vladi-
vostok area. I was intrigued by several species of small apples
similar to the wild crab-apples of our Middle West, which
we called "Siberian" crab-apples. It was noticeable that most
of the exhibits belonged to members of the OGPU, to whom
Stalin had entrusted the responsibility of looking after the food
supply for the Far Eastern army.

I was impressed by the large numbers of soldiers in evidence
at all points along the railway. At a tea and reception given by
Commissar Krutoff, head of the Far Eastern Politburu, or Com-
munist Party organization, I was cautioned against asking any
questions about military affairs, particularly concerning the
number and distribution of troops along the border. However, as
usually happened at Russian parties, the flow of vodka quickly
loosened tongues, and before long everybody was discussing
the subject uppermost in our minds, Soviet measures of defense
against the expected Japanese invasion of both Siberia and Outer
Mongolia. The Russians feared an attack at two points: a com-
bined land, air, and sea attack designed to cut off Vladivostok
and the maritime province, and a major land-and-air attack on
Outer Mongolia aimed at cutting off all Siberia east of Lake Bai-
kal. For years the Japanese had conducted a propaganda cam-
paign among the White or emigree Russians to the effect that
Japan planned to "liberate" Siberia from communist influence and
would "restore" Siberia to the White or Czarist Russians. The
Cossack leader, Ataman Seminov, whose forces once fired on
American troops in the vicinity of Chita during the American
intervention in Siberia in World War I, had long been a resident
of Dairen in South Manchuria within the Japanese zone, and was
regarded as Japan's future puppet in Siberia. When asked about

ACROSS SIBERIA 221

Japanese Intrigue among the emigree Russians in the Far East,
Soviet officers always smiled and repeated their assertions that
the Far Eastern Red Army, led by General Galen (or Bluecher),
would be able to sweep the Japanese from Manchuria in short
order.

A Soviet officer at Khabarovsk told me laughingly that an
outbreak of war on the long Siberia-Manchukuo border would
be preceded by a thousand dog-fights. When I asked him what
he meant he said that the Soviet frontier defense guards had, for
several years, trained police dogs for use In trailing Japanese
spies. He said that when the Japanese learned of the Russian
use of dogs, they immediately imported vast numbers of police
dogs, with trainers, from Germany. Hence the expected dog-
fights should hostilities break out.

Gregori Krutoff, the highest civil official in the Khabarovsk
Government, made the following statement in reply to a ques-
tion I put to him regarding the prospect of war between the
U.S.S.R. and Japan: "War with Japan is inevitable so long as
Manchuria is dominated by a crowd of Japanese military ad-
venturers who think they must continue in possession of this
territory to cover their past crimes."

Krutoff asserted that there were many sober-minded Japa-
nese who favored the withdrawal of their military forces from
Manchuria if it were possible, to "save the face" of the Kwan-
tung army. But since this was impossible, owing to the methods
the army had used in occupying the territory, the Soviets were
going on the assumption that war was inevitable. The Russians
were convinced that the Japanese army would be forced to stage
another military adventure similar to that of 1931 In Manchuria
if Japan experienced another serious economic crisis such as
prevailed in Japan in 1929-31.

On the wall of Commissar KratofPs office, which occupied
an entire floor of the only modern building in Khabarovsk, was
a large map of Manchuria upon which were indicated the many
new railways and highways which the Japanese were driving

222 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

through the sparsely populated areas of the country straight
toward the Soviet border. Pointing to the map, Krutoff ex-
claimed: "These roads are not being built for peace. They are
built for war."

But there was no indication of fear or of any desire to
appease the Japanese. I was informed that the Russians had flatly
rejected a recent Japanese proposal for a mutual withdrawal of
armed forces for twenty-five miles. The Japanese proposal was
clever, because such a withdrawal would have- exposed the Soviet
Trans-Siberian Railway to Nipponese attack, as much of the
track along the Amur skirts the border.

Then there was the problem of the Chinese Eastern Railway,
which the Czarist regime had built directly across North Man-
churia to provide a short-cut to Vladivostok. The Russians were
in daily fear that the Japanese would seize the railway and pre-
cipitate hostilities before Russia was ready. By means of clever
propaganda they forced the Japanese, from consideration of
"face," to agree to purchase the road. But even then the Russians
did not breathe freely until the sale agreement was signed. The
price finally agreed upon, approximately $50,000,000, was re-
garded as far below the real value of the i,5Oo-mile line, half of
which legally belonged to China.

Although the Japanese occupation and the cutting of both
ends of the line where it crossed the border into Soviet territory
had destroyed the economic importance of the railway, there
never had been any disposition on the part of the Soviets to sur-
render possession. The stagnation in the trade of Vladivostok
caused by the Japanese occupation of Manchuria was evidenced
in the long lines of empty rusting tank cars standing idle in the
railway yards at Vladivostok. Ordinarily these cars would be in
use transporting soya-bean oil, the chief Manchurian agricul-
tural product, to market. The Chinese strongly protested against
the sale of the Chinese Eastern Railway but were powerless to
prevent it, as the Japanese were in occupation of Manchuria.

I was particularly interested in appraising Soviet policy
toward Japan in this period of crisis in the Far East, which I felt

ACROSS SIBERIA 223

instinctively would ultimately involve iny own country. Even
a superficial inspection of the vast area of Far Eastern Russia,
which reaches around Japanese-controlled Manchukuo to the
Sea of Japan, indicated the deep determination of the Soviets to
fight for every inch of their territory. As one high official put
it, "Our Far Eastern Red Army today matches the Japanese
Manchukuan military machine, soldier for soldier, gunboat for
gunboat, and plane for plane, along the entire Amur River
frontier."

The feeling which prevailed among Soviet officials in Siberia
that war was inevitable cooled perceptibly as I approached Mos-
cow from the Far East. Relations between Moscow and Berlin
were becoming more strained, and that situation naturally
overshadowed the menace of Japan in Manchuria. While reiter-
ating the oft-repeated statement that Russia "would not permit
Japan to occupy a single inch of Siberian territory," the leaders
of Moscow were undoubtedly speculating in their minds as to
what they could do to keep the situation from getting out of
hand in that quarter, while building up their "front" against
Germany on the west. Thus we had the interesting triangular
diplomatic spectacle of both Russia and Germany wooing im-
perial Japan for cooperation in the event of an outbreak of war
in Europe, in which the U.S.S.R. and Germany, in all prob-
ability, would be on opposite sides.

Later I had cause to remember a chance remark of a Soviet
official who,, when I asked him the usual question about the rela-
tions of the Soviet Union and Japan in the Far East, replied
rather impatiently: "Why doesn't America fight Japan? It's
your job more than it is ours!"

And so indeed it turned out to be.

When I was in Khabarovsk I asked Comrade Krutoff if there
were any Americans in the vast territory under his jurisdiction.
He replied in the negative, and then as an afterthought he sud-
denly asked me if I knew where he could employ an American
engineer. He said the Government would pay the engineer's

224 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

travel expenses and a good salary. Thinking they had some
special engineering project in mind, I asked about the character
of the work they expected the American engineer to perform.
Krutoff smiled and said, "Oh, the engineering part is not so im-
portant; we want an American to help us practice English con-
versation, but of course we will use his engineering knowledge
too," The commissar then told me that practically every Soviet
official in the Far East was studying the English language, but
they could not find a single American in the Soviet Far East
with whom to practice English conversation.

I was thinking of KrutofFs suggestion about employing an
American engineer "who was also a good conversationalist" as
I got into KrutofFs bright new Buick limousine to return to the
Khabarovsk Hotel in order to pick up my baggage and then pro-
ceed to the railway station to catch the train for Moscow. Imag-
ine my surprise when KrutofFs chauffeur, a middle-aged Rus-
sian, turned and said to me in good American English, "You're
an American, aren't you? " I could not conceal my astonishment
as I replied in the affirmative and asked him where he learned to
speak the American language. He replied, "I lived in Honolulu
for ten years after the revolution, then I returned home to
Siberia." He then added, with a shrug of his shoulders, "But I
never speak English here."

There was a time when Americans were deeply interested in
large development plans in Siberia in the period following our
purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Curiously, Alaska has
occupied a significant place in the relations of Russia and the
United States. When Secretary of State William H. Seward pur-
chased Alaska from Russia in 1867, the agreed purchase price
was $7,200,000 in gold, which figured out at about one penny an
acre. But the actual purchase price was much less only $1,400,-
ooo the balance, $5,800,000, was to reimburse Russia for the
cost of a naval demonstration in New York Harbor during the
United States Civil War, at a time when England favored the
Confederacy and the Yankees needed a friend. The reason

ACROSS SIBERIA 225

Russia was willing to sell Alaska, and at such a bargain price,
was the fear that Britain was planning to seize the territory.

I met several young Komsomols, or members of the Com-
munist Youth Party, in the Russian Far East who knew far more
about Alaska than I did, and all seemed to be under the impres-
sion that America had "tricked" the Czar into selling Alaska at
too low a price. I wondered whether present-day Soviet school-
books contained passages about Russia's "loss" of Alaska, but
could not obtain any information on the subject.

The Russians in the period between 1860 and 1870 were
anxious to obtain the assistance of Americans in the development
of Siberia. The Grand Duke, a brother of the Czar, who was
Governor-General of Siberia at the time of the sale of Alaska,
made a contract with a group of Americans for the development
of all railway and other transportation facilities, telegraphic
communications, mining, forestry, and agricultural resources be-
tween the Pacific Ocean and the Ural Mountains. It probably
was the greatest development concession granted by any gov-
ernment since the English King turned over India^ Malaya and
China to the East India Company. Nothing came of the Ameri-
can concession to develop Siberia, because the Czar feared it
would result in a loss of prestige on the part of the throne. As a
result Siberia remained dormant, a vast camp for political pris-
oners of czarist regimes, and more recently, the Soviet regime.

During this early period of American interest in Russian
Siberia, an attempt was made to link the two countries by a
combination land and submarine cable starting at Seattle and
passing along the coast of Alaska, across the Aleutian Islands and
Bering Sea to Kamchatka Peninsula, and thence across Siberia to
Russia and Europe. The cable was to be operated by a private
company, enjoying a government subsidy which would make it
independent of the monopoly which controlled the Atlantic
cables. The company interested in the project, after surveying
the route along the Aleutian chain, landed a corps of surveyors
on the coast of Kamchatka. The surveyors finally made their

226 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

way entirely across Siberia to Europe, but nothing came of the
project. The greatly needed trans-Pacific cable was not built
until after the American occupation of the Philippines in 1898.

In 1920 the Soviet Government granted to the American oil
promoter, Harry F. Sinclair, a concession to develop the valuable
oil resources of northern Sakhalin Island, but Moscow was
forced to cancel the contract and refund the bargain money
because of Japanese pressure. The Soviet Government ulti-
mately turned over the concession to the Japanese navy, which
has since used the wells of Russian Sakhalin as a chief source
of fuel for both navy and air force.

When I was in Siberia at the beginning of Soviet industrial
development in the Lake Baikal region, I was told that Moscow's
intention was to duplicate as far as possible the vast Japanese
industrial development centered at Mukden in South Manchuria.
I frequently speculated on what might have happened in Rus-
sian Asia had the great American development concession of the
early iSyo's gone through. There is sufficient pulp wood in
Siberia to feed the world's presses for many generations.

XXI
Moscow In 9 35

I ARRIVED IN MOSCOW early in October, and was taken by my
Intourist guide to the Novo Moscotia (New Moscow) Hotel,
located at the approach to one of the bridges which span the
Moscow River, only about a block from Red Square and the
Kremlin. The excellent view of the Kremlin from the upper
floors of the hotel was the chief feature offered its patrons in
exchange for the high rates charged. I found that this hotel was
the one in which the Communist Party put up its labor delega-
tion guests from abroad. Many American engineers and tech-
nicians of various kinds employed in the Soviet Union also made
the Novo Moscotia their headquarters while in the capital.

One unusual thing about the hotel, of which I became aware
the next morning at breakfast, was that the dining room was
divided by a temporary railing into two sections. People who
dined at tables on one side of the railing, chiefly tourists or
businessmen, were on a "valuta" basis, meaning that they paid
for their service in foreign money, usually American money or
its equivalent. For example, my breakfast came to practically
one dollar in American money, and I paid the bill in American
money. I gave the waiter a five-dollar bank note, and received
in change a handful of miscellaneous small coins from practically
every European country except Russia,

On the other side of the railing the diners paid their bills in
Soviet paper roubles which ranged in value at that time all the
way from forty to eighty to the American dollar. The food
served on both sides of the railing was exactly the same, so that
the breakfast for which I paid a dollar in American money, if
eaten on the other side of the railing, would only have cost from

227

228 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

eight cents to twelve cents. The next time I visited the dining
room I selected a table on the "paper rouble" side of the railing,
but the waiter motioned me back to the "valuta" side as I, being
a foreign traveler, was expected to pay my bill in American
money. Later I learned of a new "American-style" restaurant
where it was possible to pay the check in paper roubles, and as
a result my bill for food went down miraculously.

A few days after I arrived in Moscow I found, in a second-
hand bookstore, a small volume containing English translations
of a number of Stalin's earlier speeches. The book was a lucky
find, because a perusal of the addresses provided me with a valu-
able key to an understanding of what was happening in Russia.
In the first place, I was impressed by the bitterness of Stalin's
attacks on the Trotskyites. His hatred of his former political
rival and of Trotsky's internationalist theories seemed to exceed
his animosity toward the imperialists and capitalists. On several
occasions Stalin expressed admiration for the efficient organiza-
tion and management of American industrial establishments, re-
peating with enthusiasm the stories which Russian engineers had
brought back from the United States.

However, the paragraphs in Stalin's published addresses
which seemed to me of most significance in view of what was
happening in Russia were his descriptions of conditions which
prevailed in the Czarist army and military establishment which
Stalin was trying to rectify. He told of instances where poorly
trained and totally unarmed soldiers were driven into front-line
trenches by officers who always carried whips (knouts) in their
hands. The soldiers without arms were expected to pick up the
rifles of their fallen comrades who were fortunate enough to
possess them. Stalin said that much of the old Russian army's
rifles and ammunition was purchased by the Government from
dishonest contractors and was defective. He said that Russia in
the past had to depend on foreign arms manufacturers for most
of her military supplies; he attributed Russia's defeat in the war
with Japan, and in World War I, in large measure, to these con-

MOSCOW IN '35 229

ditions and declared that never again would the Russian army
serve as a "door mat" for foreign enemies to walk over in invad-
ing the country.

I was greatly impressed on my eleven-day trip across Russia
by the great number of soldiers and officers, usually In new
uniforms, who crowded the railway stations and trains and were
seen in large numbers on the streets in every city and town I
visited. I naturally was curious to know the size of the Russian
army, and made frequent inquiries of Russian officials whom I
met, as to the number of men under arms. I was always given
the standard number, 600,000, which Russia supplied officially
to the League of Nations when the League collected statistics on
this subject from all countries. It seemed obvious to me that this
number was a gross understatement, because the large numbers of
men in new uniforms indicated that recruiting on a large scale
had been going on for some time. Before I left Russia the truth
was out. An official statement indicated that the army had been
expanded to well over a million men. The expansion was ap-
parent at the November Seventh Celebration in Red Square,
where contingents from the various military branches, including
light and giant tanks, were displayed. The same was true of
the aviation corps.

A notable feature of the celebration in Red Square was an
exhibition flight of the giant plane named Maxim Gorky, said
to be the largest plane constructed up to that time. The plane
was equipped with a radio and a giant amplifier for disseminating
Government propaganda. The parade of military forces through
Red Squre lasted from 10 o'clock in the morning to late after-
noon. Stalin and members of the cabinet stood behind a stone
balcony on the top of Lenin's tomb, only their heads and shoul-
ders being visible from the diplomatic reviewing stand, which
was only about fifty yards distant. I was told that the Russian
infantry units which marched through Red Square that day were
among the best drilled and equipped soldiers in Europe of the
time. No one who observed the exhibition could leave without
the impression that the Russian revolution had taken on a pro-

230 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

nounced military complexion. The parade of civilian workers
through Red Square that day was enlivened by numerous carica-
tures of Germans and Japanese. The various unions of workers,
including women, also marched with a military precision that
indicated widespread military training.

In addition to the military development which was obvious
on all sides, the country seemed to be undergoing a rapid indus-
trialization, and the personal comfort of the people was being
sacrificed to the development of heavy industry. The only
luxury article I was able to discover was a cheap brand of per-
fume which seemed to be on sale everywhere. Several amusing
stories were told about the perfumery industry. Proponents of
the communist system always argued that there could never be
over-production under the Russian system, because the prices of
surplus products would be automatically lowered by the Gov-
ernment, thus enabling the lower-income strata of the population
to purchase the goods. Surplus stocks would be consumed in this
manner without causing a depression in the industry. However,
it didn't work out that way in the perfumery industry, because
no one seemed to want the perfume, even though the price had
been reduced to what seemed to me to be a fraction of its cost.

Another thing which impressed all tourists in Russia at that
time was the selling methods used in the official stores. The
addiction of the Russians to standing in queues was nowhere
more in evidence than in the stores. On entering one always ob-
served two long queues of customers, one headed toward the
counters where goods were for sale, and another leading to the
cash register. You first joined the queue leading to the mer-
chandise, counters, and after attracting the attention of the hard-
working clerk, you indicated the article you wished and were
told the price. If you decided to purchase the article, the clerk
would lay it aside and hand you a small slip of paper with the
price noted on it. You then took this slip of paper and joined the
other line leading to the cash register. When you reached the
cash register you handed the cashier the slip, with the amount

MOSCOW IN 35 231

of money noted thereon. The cashier then rang up your pur-
chase and handed you a receipt. You then took this receipt
and joined the first line again. After you reached the counter
you presented the slip and received your package.

When I was preparing to leave Moscow, I visited one of the
more modern food stores to purchase some supplies for the long
railway trip. After going through the queue procedures, which
required more than an hour, I found the clerk greatly embar-
rassed because the store was out of wrapping paper. I also was
embarrassed, because the article I had purchased was a Russian
sausage about four inches in diameter and about three feet long.
I had estimated from its length that this sausage would be suffi-
cient to supply me for the eleven-day return trip to Vladivostok.
I now look back upon the incident as my most embarrassing
experience in Moscow, as I had to carry that naked three-foot
length of sausage in my hand all the way back to the hotel, a dis-
tance of more than a mile, through streets crowded with people,
most of whom looked hungrily at the sausage, and suspiciously
at the foreigner who carried it. The fact that the store was out of
wrapping paper was no new experience to residents of Moscow,
for the paper shortage in that country was almost unbelievable.
People would ask for a small scrap of paper, whether newspaper
or of the wrapping variety, for use in making cigarettes. They
had a way of rolling the paper into a small funnel and then
filling it with tobacco, which they smoked at a 45 -degree angle
in order to keep the tobacco from spilling out. The almost com-
plete absence of practically all types of paper, in a country pos-
sessing the largest potential supplies of wood-pulp, led to many
embarrassing situations.

The chief worry of newspapermen whom I met in the vari-
ous towns, particularly in Siberia, was over their paper supplies.
The organizations in charge of supplying paper to the various
publishing plants were constantly falling down on the job, with
the result that the papers either had to publish reduced editions,
or had to skip an edition entirely. Since I had traveled for days

232 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

through Siberian forests, the largest in the world, I naturally was
surprised at the paper shortage. I was told by the editors that the
Government did not regard the production of paper as an indus-
try sufficiently important to have priority over other heavy
industries.

Members of the correspondents corps in Moscow were
astonished to learn that I had traveled to Moscow by way of
Vladivostok and the Trans-Siberian Railway, as for several years
none of them had been permitted to travel in the Ural area or
Siberia. The cause for this seemed to me obvious. The Soviet
authorities did not want either of their potential enemies, Japan
or Germany, to know the details of the industrialization program
which was being pushed in these regions. Also, the Soviet
authorities were unwilling to have foreigners observe the forced-
labor program which was being used in the industrialization
process. Most foreigners in Moscow were familiar with the
forced labor which had been used in the construction of the
White Sea canal, but they had little conception of the extent to
which it was being used in the development of Siberia.

I, along with other foreign visitors, was shown a number of
modern industrial establishments, but very few foreign visitors
observed another class of establishments with which we were
once altogether too familiar in the United States. I refer to the
sweat-shops where one observed, through dirty windows,
crowded rooms with sweaty men, women, and children working
over sewing machines or doing hand needle-work. I imagine that
many of the uniforms for the new army, and much of the
clothing sold to civilians came from these sweat-shops, despite
the production of the new plants of which the authorities were
so proud.

The famous Moscow subway was nearing completion; it
turned out to be the Soviet's most baffling job, due to the soft,
sandy nature of Moscow's soil. I was astonished one day to see
a large crowd of workers emerging from one of the entrances,
each carrying a shovel; all of the laborers were women. They
wore overalls and caps, similar to the men's, and could be distin-

MOSCOW IN '35 233

guished only by their voices. I was told by other correspondents
that it had become so difficult to obtain men for work on the
subway that the authorities appealed to the women of the coun-
try to complete the job, which they did with enthusiasm. I was
also told that the chief object in rushing the construction of the
subway was to provide air-raid shelters in the event of war.

I learned about the official censorship of news dispatches one
night when I was invited to dinner at the home of one of the
correspondents, Demaree Bess of the Christian Science Monitor.
There were eight guests, all of them representing leading Ameri-
can and British papers. We had just been seated at the table
when there was a telephone call for one of the guests, who was
correspondent for a New York paper. After a few minutes the
guest returned, tendered his apologies, and said that he had to
go to the censor's office totalk about certain alterations in a
cablegram which he had just filed. In a few minutes there was
another telephone call, and another guest departed on a similar
errand. Within an hour almost everyone had departed for the
censor's office to discuss some statement or other in messages
filed before dinner. This was repeated almost every day. Occa-
sionally the correspondents were able to beat the game by send-
ing copies of their messages by air mail and also by ordinary
mail, hoping that one of the three would get through. Another
way of getting messages out was to hand them to travelers leav-
ing on the night train for Warsaw and Berlin, with instructions
to file the message after crossing the border. But the Govern-
ment was sure to retaliate against the correspondent who used
such methods to elude censorship. A favorite device was to re-
fuse the correspondent a visa to return, should he leave the
country for any reason.

I met Karl Radek, editor of Pravda, at a dinner party given
by some members of the official Tass News Agency, whom I
had met in the Far East. Radek had previously been a follower
of Trotsky, but managed to get on the Stalin band-wagon after

234 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the Trotsky purge. He was a brilliant journalist, and his edi-
torials were frequently quoted in the Tass Agency reports. The
chief topic of conversation at the dinner I attended was a book
written by William Henry Chamberlin, former Moscow corre-
spondent of the Christian Science Monitor. Chamberlin's book
was strongly critical of the Soviet regime, particularly Stalin's
"collectivist" agricultural program in the Ukraine, where tens
of thousands of small land owners had been dispossessed when
Stalin put through his communist agricultural program. It was
this program which produced most of the forced labor which
the Soviet authorkies were using in their railway construction
and industrialization program in the Far East. Radek could not
understand why Chamberlin had written such a book "after
being so well treated by the authorities during his ten-year resi-
dence in the Soviet Union." Radek also referred to other
correspondents who had lived in Russia and had been "well
treated," but had later written "unfriendly" things about the
Soviet Union. He referred particularly to a New York colum-
nist who had once been associated with Trotsky in the early days
of the Soviet revolution, but after returning to the United States
had written unfavorable things about the Soviets. Radek himself
was a victim of the next purge.

The political situation in Moscow at the time was tense.
Fascism in Italy and Germany was riding high, and Moscow was
also worried over the possibility of war with Japan. The
U.S.S.R., one of the most primitive countries in the world, with
a population estimated at 160,000,000, consisting of well over
a hundred nationalities speaking 180 different dialects, was being
welded into a modern state capable of defending itself under
arms against the world's most powerful nations. In its early days
the Soviet regime had withstood interventionist movements par-
ticipated in by Britain, France, and America on the European
front, and Japan and America in Siberia. While the foreign in-
terventionists and the White Russian reactionaries had been de-
feated, suspicion engendered during these conflicts still re-
mained. Russia suspected everybody, and foreigners were con-

MOSCOW IN 35 235

stantly watched, as were Russians who associated with foreign-
ers. The Japanese were under the closest surveillance.

Unlike Japan, which had started its industrialization program
by tackling light industry first, Russia began with the heavy
industries and was building tractor plants, and machine plants,
was developing iron, coal, and copper mines and building blast
furnaces at the expense of all but the most essential consumption
goods. Serious mistakes were being made, partly due to the fact
that the Russians were sorely lacking in workers possessing
mechanical skills.

I heard frequent complaints on the part of the directors of
various state-owned industries of their apparent inability to
make consumption equal production. One obvious reason for
this was the low economic status of the people, but there were
other reasons. I took along with me a number of American
magazines, including several popular publications for women.
There was a tremendous interest in these papers, even among
those who could not read English, and most of the interest was
centered in the advertisements. I was constantly questioned
about the products advertised, particularly articles of clothing,
personal adornment or service. I soon reached the conclusion
that the Russians are an advertisement-starved people and that
the lack of advertising had much to do with the complaint that
consumption did not keep up with production. The official
abhorrence of advertising as part of the hated capitalist system
undoubtedly had an adverse effect on the distribution of the
limited amount of consumption goods which were produced, but
apparently could not be sold.

Interest in the advertisements in my magazines on the part
of people I met on the trains and in the hotels was eclipsed only
by interest in some phonograph records I had purchased in
Shanghai for a friend in Moscow, and of all the records, the ones
that most delighted the Russians were two Hawaiian hula pieces.
They nearly wore them out on a squeaky portable phonograph
someone had on the train.

236 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

I heard an. amusing story concerning Soviet prohibition of
commercial advertising. The Soviet Government decided to
establish a canned-goods industry. Machinery was purchased, a
factory was set up, and an American woman, an authority on
canning, was brought to Russia as an instructor and technical
expert in the organizing of the plant. The finished product, con-
sisting of tinned tomatoes, string-beans, fruits, and other prod-
ucts, was shipped to the retail stores; but there the product
stayed on the shelves, because the Russian public was not famil-
iar with this method of preserving food. An American resident
who had heard of the predicament wrote a letter to one of the
Moscow papers suggesting that the products be advertised in the
customary American fashion. The letter aroused a storm of in-
dignation with a flood of correspondence in all the newspapers
reprimanding the bumptious American and condemning all ad-
vertising as the work of the devilish capitalistic system. The
surprising outcome was that the correspondence appearing in all
the newspapers constituted the best possible advertising, and as a
result of the interest aroused, the canned-goods stocks began to
move fast.

Aside from the large number of military men on the trains,
it seemed to me that the remainder of the space in the passenger
coaches was taken up by civilians, young and middle-aged men
carrying brief cases. These earnest individuals were connected
with the hundred and one government enterprises, factories,
engineering projects, railway construction, etc., scattered over
the country. In Moscow one saw these men in the hotels, on the
streets, sitting or standing in long rows in the reception rooms in
government offices, waiting for appointments with government
officials.

The concentration of supreme authority in practically every
field of human endeavor in the hands of a few officials in Mos-
cow had created an almost unbelievable congestion in the Soviet
capital. It was said that Moscow was the most crowded city on
the continent, and I was willing to wager that at least half the
population was composed of earnest young men carrying brief

MOSCOW IN ^35 237

cases and waiting for appointments with the heads of govern-
ment bureaus.

This congestion was observable particularly in the old-
fashioned apartment buildings with which Moscow abounds.
The Government carefully regulated the size and rents of
apartments, but it could not regulate the number of friends and
relatives who moved in on the household. The wife of a Soviet
official told me that the only intimacy she enjoyed with her hus-
band was when they went to the theater. She said they had a
dozen friends and relatives living with them in their two-room
apartment.

Moscow is a notable city of theaters, opera, and the ballet,
most of which I visited while in the Soviet capital. The impor-
tance of the theater in the lives of the people was also evident in
other cities and even in the smaller towns of Siberia and North
Manchuria. In many of the latter the theaters also served as com-
munity centers or clubs. When I was in Moscow the leading
state theaters were presenting plays depicting incidents from the
lives of past great rulers, Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible.
My knowledge of the Russian language was insufficient to enable
me to understand all the fine points of the dramas, but I did
comprehend the fact that the plays emphasized and glorified the
importance of the "strong man" in the affairs of state.

One day as I was walking from Red Square to the Novo
Moscotia Hotel, I heard voices and saw a dim light through a
door leading to a semi-basement room in an old stone building.
I stopped and was surprised to hear a religious chant, the chant
of the old Russian Orthodox Church, which I had heard at
special New Year and Easter services at the various White Rus-
sian churches in Shanghai. I entered the little room and found a
regular service in progress with about a dozen elderly persons
present. The walls were covered with ikons. This church, little
and poor but a church for all that, was located just one block
from the walls of the Kremlin. Unfortunately the language diffi-
culty prevented me from obtaining from the venerable priest

238 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the history of this service conducted within the shadow of the
Kremlin in "godless" Moscow. It was the only religious service
I observed in the country during my trip.

I learned a great deal from my official guide, whom I nick-
named "Siberian Anna," about the status of women and young
people in the U.S.S.R. Anna was twenty-two years old and a
member of the Young Komsomols. Despite her youth she had
worked three seasons on a floating salmon cannery off the Kam-
chatka coast and had also helped construct the new town of
Komsomolsk on the Amur. Soviet publications contained much
about the new freedom enjoyed by women in the Soviet Union,
and I was shown the "abortion clinic" in Moscow, where it was
claimed any woman could go if she did not wish to give birth to
her baby. I also met young women, particularly in Siberia, who
had babies but were quite indefinite about the whereabouts of
the husband and father.

In Vladivostok I was shown the official bureau where
divorces were granted to either party for the asking, the only
charge being the cost of a postage stamp to notify the other
party. The official in charge, after showing me the records,
offered to grant me a divorce if I desired one. He said the charge
would be about twenty cents, due to the higher cost of foreign
postage, and emphasized the point that the services of attorneys
were unnecessary.

Threatening war clouds in both east and west shortly put an
end to cheap and easy divorces. Stalin closed the Moscow abor-
tion clinic before I departed from the country. The threat of
war and the reality of war have caused the Soviet leaders to take
steps safeguarding the stability of the family and home. The
parentless children who were still roaming the streets and
countryside even in the towns of Siberia and North Manchuria
were rounded up and placed in trade schools* The latest step was
an order abolishing co-education and providing for separate
schools for the sexes throughout the country. Specialized educa-
tion for girl students, designed to encourage home-making, was
also decreed. Complete "freedom" for women had not worked
out in actual practice.

XXII

Home, Via Japan

SINCE THE JAPANESE had refused to permit me to travel through
Manchukuo on my way from the Far East to Moscow, I knew
it would be futile for me to apply for a visa for the return trip
through that province. I was apprehensive that the Japanese
would not even give me permission to return by way of Japan. I
knew that when one's name gets on the Japanese military black-
list, regardless of the reason, it never comes off the list. I won-
dered whether the animosity of the Japanese military authorities
over the articles I had written about their Manchurian invasion
was shared by the civilian government in Tokyo. I decided to
find out, and called at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow.

The streets for a half block on each side of the Embassy
appeared completely deserted, but as I approached the building
I noticed two or three Russian OGPU guards standing in the
alleyways and glancing at me curiously. I rang the bell at the
front door several times without receiving an answer, so went
around to the side door, which was finally opened by a Japanese
servant, who took me upstairs. There I was happy to recognize a
legation secretary whom I had previously known in Mukden,
Manchuria. His name was Maori. He had gone to school in the
United States and had been friendly and helpful to me despite
the animosity of the military authorities. I questioned Maori
regarding the possibility of getting a visa to return to Shanghai
by way of Japan. Without hesitation he made the proper entry
on my passport, and in addition gave me a personal note to the
Japanese Foreign Minister who, he assured me, would be inter-
ested in talking to me about my trip across Russia, and particu-

239

240 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

larly about the situation in the Soviet Far East, which the
Japanese were watching closely.

My return trip to Vladivostok was uneventful, but a name-
sake of mine, Bonney Powell, had to suffer in my stead. He and
I had previously worked together on several assignments, includ-
ing the Manchurian invasion, and had frequently experienced
complications with mail and telegrams due to the similarity of
our names. He had without difficulty obtained a visa from the
Japanese embassy in Berlin to return to Shanghai by way of
Manchukuo, as the Japanese authorities had no black marks
against him. We therefore traveled across Russia and Siberia at
the same time but on different trains, and without either being
aware of the other's presence, he returning by way of Manchu-
kuo and I by way of Japan.

When Bonney reached the border town of Manchouli on the
Siberian-Manchurian border, the Japanese and Manchukuo
border guards immediately pounced on him and escorted him
with his baggage, including his newsreel camera and several reels
of pictures, to a private upstairs room in the railway station on
the Chinese side of the border. Bonney was held there for nearly
forty-eight hours while the Japanese examined every scrap of
paper and every inch of the several newsreels that he carried. He
had no idea why he was being detained, or why he was subjected
to this indignity, until one of the Japanese gendarmes produced
a memorandum he had received from Tokyo which referred to
an article in the China Weekly Review dealing with the Man-
chukuo situation. Bonney then realized what had happened; the
Japanese secret-service men apparently had been tipped off by
the Japanese embassy in Moscow that I was traveling to the Far
East, and they had mistaken Bonney for me. After he had con-
vinced the Japanese that they had the wrong man, they were
profusely apologetic and immediately returned all of his papers
and film, although much of the latter had been ruined in the
process of examination.

While I was in Vladivostok awaiting the boat for Japan, I

HOME, VIA JAPAN 241

went to the Japanese consulate, but could raise no one, despite
repeated knocks at all the doors. The window shutters were
closed and the building appeared to be deserted, although I saw
smoke coming from the chimney. I later learned that the Russian
Embassy in Tokyo was being picketed by the Japanese and that
the Soviet Ambassador and other members of the Embassy were
unable to show themselves in the streets or at hotels without
being followed or spied upon. The Russians in Vladivostok and
elsewhere had been paying the Japanese back in their own coin,
the only kind of treatment which they understood.

The little boat upon which I traveled from Vladivostok to
Japan stopped at Rashin, one of the new ports which the Japa-
nese were developing on the upper east coast of Korea. I decided
that it was not safe for me to go ashore in Korea, but the captain
of the ship assured me it could be managed. In fact, he urged me
to do so in order to see the construction work which was going
on there, and gave me a note to the customs officer of the port.
I was met at the jetty by a Japanese newspaperman, correspond-
ent for a Tokyo paper, who I suspected was also a member of
the gendarmerie. He was quite accommodating and took me all
over the new port, while at the same time asking me all sorts
of questions about what I had seen in Russia.

In the little port everything was new, including the jetties,
upon which new railway tracks had been built to enable freight
cars to be loaded directly from army transports. Japanese engi-
neers and contractors, utilizing the labor of thousands of Chinese
and Korean coolies, were blasting off the face of the precipitous
Korean mountains, in order to provide space for the docking
of ships and for railway tracks. My Japanese newspaperman
guide assured me that the port of Rashin, together with two
neighboring ports, Seishin and Yuki, were being rapidly devel-
oped in order to enable the Japanese army to transport troops
by rail and sea from the Tokyo district to Central and North
Manchuria within sixty hours. When he said this he nodded

242 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

significantly toward Vladivostok, and it was obvious that what
the Japanese had in mind was the encirclement of Vladivostok
from the land as weU as the sea.

Immediately following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria
in the fall of 1931, the Japanese army put a large force of
laborers to work on a short stretch of track connecting the
Chinese railway system in Manchuria with the Japanese railway
which skirts the upper east coast of Korea.

I spent several hours investigating Rashin, which had the ap-
pearance of a boom town with hastily built shacklike stores and
houses lining each side of the new streets. Finally I asked my
volunteer guide to take me to some Korean houses and stores
where Korean goods were sold. He shrugged his shoulders and
said, "Koreans dirty people live back in valley." I persuaded
him, however, to take me to the Korean section, which I found
most interesting, particularly the native markets, where I was
able to purchase several articles of Korean embroidery and
native jewelry.

Our ship finally landed at the little Japanese port of Takaoka
on the west coast of Honshu Island of Japan, where the customs
inspector accepted my passport visa without question. However,
he devoted considerable time to an inspection of several books I
had purchased in Moscow. I doubted whether his limited English
enabled him to understand the contents of any of the books, and
was confirmed in this belief when he selected a book and in-
quired, "What kind of book, this? Ancient, present or future
history?" I glanced at the title (it was Victor A. YakhontofFs
"Russia and the Soviet Union in the Far East") and replied,
"Mostly ancient, very old." This seemed to satisfy him and he
stamped all my books and permitted me to go to the train. How-
ever, he confiscated my last remaining tin of tobacco, which I
had obtained from a friend at the American Embassy in Mos-
cow.

I found civilian authorities in Tokyo friendly and anxious
to talk to me about conditions in Russia, but I had no luck what-
ever with the military, the spokesmen being cold and uncom-

HOME, VIA JAPAN 243

municative. The standard questions were "How many airplane
bases did you see between Khabarovsk and Vladivostok," "How
many submarines did you see in Vladivostok," "Will Russia and
Germany fight?" A few days after my arrival I was invited to
attend a luncheon at the Imperial Hotel given by the Japan-
American Society, a sort of "hands across the sea" organization.
I sat next to the chairman, a well known Japanese ex-parliamen-
tarian who had recently been appointed director of the so-called
Japanese "Culture Bureau" which the Japanese had just estab-
lished in New York. Directly across the table from me was
Richard J. Walsh, President of the John Day Company and
publisher of the magazine Asia, edited by his wife, Pearl Buck,
Our Japanese host explained the object of the Japanese "culture"
bureau system, which they hoped to extend to Chicago, San
Francisco, and other cities in the United States. During the
course of the conversation Mr. Walsh referred to his recent pur-
chase of Asia Magazine and of plans for expanding the journal
into an organ of information concerning the Far East. This
aroused the interest of our Japanese host, who turned to Mr.
Walsh and said, "Do you need any money? We could give you
$50,000 a year for advertising Japan." Then apparently realizing
that I also was a magazine publisher, he turned to me and said,
"We could also give you $50,000.'" Walsh and I both declined
his kind offer, which was very revealing as to the purpose of the
so-called "culture" bureaus, at least from the Japanese point of
view.

One day in walking from the hotel to the Japanese Foreign
Office I was accompanied by a well known Japanese newspaper-
man in Tokyo, Kimpei Sheba, who was born in Honolulu but
had returned to Japan, to engage in newspaper work. The street
where we were walking led past the Diet or parliamentary
building, and I was surprised to see that the sidewalks directly
in front of the building had been roped off and that pedestrians
were compelled to walk on the opposite side of the street. There
were also a considerable number of Japanese policemen in the

244 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

vicinity, I asked Sheba for an explanation, and was told that there
were six hundred representatives of farmers' organizations in
Tokyo who were demanding relief from heavy taxes. The police
were afraid that they might attempt to invade the Diet in order
to present their petitions.

That night I mentioned the incident to an American corre-
spondent who had lived in Japan for several months. He told me
that he had recently made a trip through the northern Japanese
prefectures or counties, where there had been reports of con-
siderable unrest due to poor crops and heavy taxation. He said
that he found the peasants impoverished and the native inns in the
villages filled with Japanese agents who were recruiting farm
and village girls for the cotton mills in Osaka and the geisha
houses of Tokyo and other large Japanese cities, and also for
the large towns in Manchuria where Japanese garrisons were
located. The agents were making contracts with the parents of
the girls, usually for periods of three years' service. Only the
most attractive girls were acceptable for the geisha house trade,
which is a government monopoly. In some instances, where the
girls were unusually pretty, the parents were advanced as much
as 1,500 yen (about $700). In addition, a further advance was
made to the girl for the purchase of suitable clothing, making
the total amount of her indebtedness to the geisha house about
2,000 or 2,500 yen. The only way the girl could obtain her
freedom was by paying off this large sum; and this she would be
able to do only in case she attracted the attention of some rich
customer. In practice the girls became slaves of the houses and
usually remained there while their youthful charms lasted, and
then drifted into houses of prostitution.

The sums advanced to girls employed by the Osaka cotton
mills were much lower, and there was no large outlay for cloth-
ing. The girls in the cotton mills had to remain on the job for the
length of their contract, and had to live in the dormitories pro-
vided by the mills. They could not leave their jobs until the
expiration of the "contracts."

The city of Tokyo at that time was filled with so-called

HOME, VIA JAPAN 245

"beer halls," which remained open both day and night, a Japa-
nese conception of the American night club. Most of the beer
halls, particularly those on the Ginza, the main street, occupied
small rooms with semi-private booths built along the walls. Cus-
tomers would purchase beer from the girls, who would sit and
entertain the customer while the beer was being consumed.
There were usually a half dozen to a dozen girls in each beer
hall, although some of the more elaborate ones contained as
many as fifty to one hundred girls each. The girls received a
commission on their sales, and had to split their tips with the
house. I visited several of these places and, noticing the calloused
hands of the girl attendants, inquired the reason. In almost all
cases the girls had previously worked in the Osaka cotton mills
and following the expiration of their contracts had gone to
Tokyo to work in the beer halls, which were little better than
houses of assignation, as the girls were constantly trying to make
dates with the customers. I was told there were more than 5,000
of these beer halls in Tokyo at the time.

I was reminded of the propaganda which was spread through-
out Japan and the Far East at the time of the occupation of
Manchuria in 1931, when the Japanese were told that the occu-
pation of Manchuria would bring prosperity to the home land
and that poverty would be banished forever. Since the occupa-
tion of Manchuria had instead brought more poverty, it was
obvious that Japan was preparing for still greater military adven-
tures.

I embarked for Shanghai on one of the ships of the American
President Lines, owned and operated by the United States Gov-
ernment. The ship upon which I traveled was delayed for two
days in Kobe Harbor in order to unload the heavy cargo con-
sisting entirely of American scrap iron. I was curious to see
what type of scrap was in the cargo, and stood for several hours
on the jetty watching the cranes lift from the ship's holds,
and swing over the jetty, enormous bales and piles of motor car
frames, railway car couplings, heavy steel floor beams from the

246 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

framework of discarded American railway cars, and still heavier
pieces of fabricated steel which I was told had been taken from
the razed New York elevated railway. A friend who was con-
nected with the American branch assembly plant of General
Motors, located at Osaka, told me that he traveled to work every
morning on a tram line which skirted the bay. He said that the
Osaka harbor was literally filled with old ships and hulks which
the Japanese had purchased abroad and were engaged in dis-
mantling. He said that the Japanese had grown so expert in dis-
mantling these ships to obtain the plates and beams for their
war plants and warship construction that the old boats seemed
to melt away as he traveled from day to day along the shore
between Kobe and Osaka. He said that he had seen storage yards
for scrap iron which covered literally square miles of territory
in the vicinity of Osaka.

I had frequently been told in the past that Japan would never
be able to engage in a major war, because of her shortage of iron.
It was true that Japan was short of iron, but the so-called strate-
gists overlooked the greatest iron mine in the world the scrap
piles of America. An American military attach^ in the Far East
told me that scrap iron had provided the chief cargo of Ameri-
can President boats on the Pacific for almost ten years.

I wrote several stories about the scrap iron scandal, and some
months later was interested in hearing of a campaign started in
church and missionary circles in the United States against the
sale of American scrap iron to Japan. One of the leaders in this
campaign, a former missionary from Tsingtao, China, told me
that he had headed a committee which interviewed a man in
New York who was popularly known as the "scrap iron king
of America." After the committee explained to him the purpose
of their visit, that they were trying to prevent the shipment of
scrap iron to Japan because the Japanese were preparing to wage
war not only upon China but upon the United States as well, the
"king of scrap" looked up from his desk and dismissed them
with the exclamation, "I have scrap iron to sell and will sell it to
the devil himself if he's got the money to pay for it."

XXIII
The Philippines in '36

THERE WERE DEVELOPMENTS in 1936 which caused interna-
tional attention, previously centered on China and Japan, to be
shifted to the Philippines.

I went to Manila in November of that year, planning to
cover two important events. One was the inauguration of Gen-
eral Douglas MacArthur's program for the defense of the Philip-
pines. The other was the meeting of the thirty-third Interna-
tional Eucharist Congress, a most important gathering of repre-
sentatives of the Catholic Church from all parts of the world. It
was the first time the Congress had ever met in the Philippines,
the only Catholic country in the Far East. The Congress at-
tracted a half million Catholics from Far Eastern countries,
chiefly from China and the Philippines, and was concerned
primarily with the position of the Church in the face of the
gathering clouds of war in the Far East.

The prospect of early independence lent importance to the
position of the new Philippine Commonwealth in Far Eastern
politics. Within recent months Manila had been visited by the
commander of the British fleet in the Far East, who had fired the
first official salute on behalf of a foreign Power in honor of the
new President. Other visitors included the British commander-
in-chief at Singapore and the Governor-General of the Nether-
lands Indies. On the President boat on which I traveled to Manila
were several children who were refugees from the civil war in
Spain. I was told they had been adopted by a wealthy Spanish
resident of Manila who was one of the chief financial supporters
of General Franco, the Spanish dictator.

It struck me as an anomalous situation that the United States
Government was embargoing shipments of arms and munitions

247

248 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

to the Spanish republican government while wealthy Spanish
residents of the Philippines, an American possession, were remit-
ting large sums to Franco which he was using to purchase mili-
tary supplies from Hitler and Mussolini. It also struck me as
significant that Spanish merchants who never were able to pros-
per when the Philippines were under the Spanish Crown had
become highly successful after the United States took possession
of the islands. According to the latest census, there were some
2,000 Spanish residents of Manila, with several hundred more
residing in the provinces. Several were rated among the wealthi-
est residents of the islands. After Congress passed the Inde-
pendence Act a considerable number took out Philippine citi-
zenship. In addition to those of strictly Spanish blood there was
also a large and influential population of Spanish mestizos, that
is, persons of mixed Spanish and native blood. Since the Philip-
pines had been a Spanish possession, repercussions from the civil
war in Spain were felt in the islands, where many of the issues
involved in the Spanish conflict were also present.
, In an address delivered in the Manila Stadium before an
audience of 10,000 students on the eve of the Eucharistic Con-
gress, His Grace, the Most Reverend Michael J. O'Doherty,
Archbishop of Manila, referred to the agrarian problem as the
chief cause of unrest among the masses of the 15,000,000 Fili-
pinos. He stressed particularly the problem of the large landed
estates owned chiefly by the Dominican, Augustinian, and Re-
collecto corporations. This problem extended back into the
Spanish regime, which had lasted for nearly four centuries
from the discovery of the islands by Magellan, 1519-1522. It
was said that Magellan converted the first Filipino, a chieftain
of the island of Cebu, to the Catholic faith. According to the
Philippine Handbook, more than ninety per cent of the popula-
tion are members of the Church, which was described as "the
most potent organization which had materially and spiritually
shaped and built the Filipino nation for 375 years."

Spanish cultural influence in the Philippines as spread

THE PHILIPPINES IN '36 249

through the Catholic schools and churches had decreased notice-
ably in recent years, due to the influx of large numbers of
American priests and nuns, who are specially trained for service
in this field.

William H. Taft, the first Civil Governor, sent out to the
Philippines by President William McKinley, made the initial at-
tempt to solve the friar-land problem by purchasing large tracts
and then selling small holdings to the native tenants on easy pay-
ments extending over a period of twenty-five years. But this had
not solved the problem, as it was reported that the large Church
corporations still owned 400,000 acres of the best rice, tobacco
and copra lands, plus large realty holdings in the city of Manila.

President Manuel Quezon told me of his plan to use a bal-
ance of $30,000,000 belonging to the Philippines, which was
held in the United States Treasury, to continue the land-pur-
chase plan inaugurated by Taft a third of a century previously.

That the matter was urgent was indicated by a summary I
made of news reports of uprisings of peasant tenants which had
appeared in the three leading newspapers, the "Bulletin, Tribune,
and Herald. I found reports of twenty-five such clashes between
tenants and the police, some involving bloodshed, within a
period of approximately one month. I was also told that some
60,000 tenants on lands of the three big Church orders were in
open rebellion. I was informed that there was little or no trouble
where the lands were administered by the Church societies
directly, but the most serious complications had developed
where Church lands had been turned over to third parties,
chiefly American and British real estate corporations, to exploit.

Of greatest seriousness was the organization of a radical
party known as the Sakdalistas, composed largely of tenant
farmers and laborers. The name of the party, "Sakdal," in the
leading native dialect, the Tagalog, meant "we protest." It was
alleged that the Sakdals were behind most of the recent upris-
ings, and it was significant also that the communist slogan,
"United Front Against Fascism," was beginning to be heard in
Philippine politics. The situation reached a crisis when the

250 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Sakdals organized widespread rioting on the occasion of the
inauguration of Manuel Quezon as President of the Common-
wealth. An investigation was immediately launched, but Benigno
Ramos, leader of the Sakdals, did not wait for the investigation
to get under way; he fled to Japan, where he resided for several
years and continued his propaganda against the Administration
of President Quezon, and the Americans in the Philippines. Some
old-time residents remembered back to the days of the insurrec-
tion of Aguinaldo against the American forces, when it was dis-
covered that the rebels of that day were also receiving their
supplies from Japan, the middle-men being renegade Americans
who operated out of Shanghai.

Bishop Paul Yu Pin, Vicar Apostolic of Nanking, the leading
Catholic delegate from China at the Eucharistic Congress in
Manila, was appointed head of the organization of Chinese
Catholic Youths and Catholic Action in China. Upon the recom-
mendation of Archbishop Q'Doherty, so-called Vigilante Com-
mittees of Catholic Action were set up in every Catholic parish
for the purpose of studying social and economic problems. As
to the strength and influence of the Church in China, it was
reported that the present membership of 3,000,000 was increas-
ing at the rate of 100,000 a year.

In view of the growing social unrest, it appeared that the
decision to develop a strong military force in the Philippines was
motivated as much by the desire to control social conditions as
it was to meet the urgent demands of national defense.

A small army of carpenters was working night and day put-
ting up temporary barracks. General MacArthur explained his
program, which called for the training of 40,000 native troops
a year, extending over a ten-year period, providing an army, of
between 400,000 and 500,000 men by 1946, the year when inde-
pendence for the islands would come into effect The men were
to receive five and a half months' training the first year, with
briefer periods each year thereafter.

The original Filipino trainees under the MacArthur-Quezon
program later became the guerrillas and the Philippine under-

THE PHILIPPINES IN '36 251

ground, many of them led by American officers, who gave the
Japanese so much trouble after their invasion of the islands*
They also greatly facilitated General MacArthur's re-conquest
of the archipelago.

The islands had been divided into ten defense districts, each
with its mobilization center where equipment for the troops was
stored. It was expected that by the end of the period the Com-
monwealth would have a well rounded force of thirty infantry
divisions. A beginning also had been made in the training of an
aviation corps, and there was talk of developing a fleet of speedy
torpedo boats. Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtain-
ing supplies, even out-moded equipment from the United States.
Apparently few persons in the United States realized the neces-
sity of defending the Philippines, and there was much disparage-
ment of MacArthur's program. One powerful home newspaper
syndicate advocated cutting the islands adrift or even giving
them to Japan, as though that would end our responsibilities in

the Pacific.

f

At that time the only armed forces entrusted with the de-
fense of the new Philippine Commonwealth, consisting of some
1,400 far-scattered islands, was a small unit, less than a full
division, of the United States Army. About half of this force
consisted of the celebrated native Philippine Scouts,

I found General MacArthur and members of his staff, as well
as President Manuel Quezon, seriously concerned with happen-
ings on the Japan-Russia and China- Japan fronts. Since I had
often visited Manchuria and had recently been in Siberia and
Japan, I delivered a half dozen addresses before various groups
at Manila dealing with my experiences in these countries.

In various talks I had with leading Americans and Filipinos,
I gained a fairly complete idea of the outstanding problems of
the new commonwealth, from the standpoint of defense against
a powerful enemy such as Japan, and I was informed of the
main features of General MacArthur's plan for the defense of
the islands. It was based on the fortification of the Inland Sea,
the connected bodies of water lying between the two main

252 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

islands of Luzon on the north and Mindanao on the south. This
important body of water, somewhat comparable to the famous
Inland Sea of Japan, is bounded on the west and southwest by
the important islands of Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu, and
Bohol, and on the east by Masbate, Samar, and Leyte. With the
six entrances to this inland sea fortified with batteries of long-
range defense guns, an enemy, even a powerful one, would find
the Philippine fortress a hard nut to crack, particularly if the
land batteries were supported by an adequate air force with
sufficient bases and a fleet of speedy torpedo boats with enough
auxiliary craft to carry military equipment and food supplies to
the garrisons on southern Luzon. The rich islands to the south
of Luzon, including the large island of Mindanao, constitute
the bread-basket of the archipelago. If the inland sea route to
these islands could be kept open, large forces operating on
southern Luzon could be supplied almost indefinitely.

Practically everyone agreed on the wisdom of this phase of
Philippine defense, but I did not find such unanimity on the
question of defending Manila, the capital, located on Manila Bay
in southern Luzon, the most northern island of the Philippine
group. The island of Luzon, only a few miles south of Formosa,
is vulnerable to attack from practically all sides, in this day of the
long range bomber.

Since earliest times Manila had depended for defense upon
the rocky fortress of Corregidor, located on an island at the
entrance to Manila Bay. Before the era of the bomber, Corre-
gidor was impregnable, but in the 1930'$, with its exposed roads,
communication lines, and power plant it was practically unde-
fendable. However, west of the city, between Manila Bay and
the China Sea, there was a rocky peninsula which our army
engineers believed could be defended for a considerable period.
This peninsula, covered with tropical vegetation, was known
as Bataan, and was destined, a very few years later, to become
a household word in America.

There was one question about the Philippines to which I

THE PHILIPPINES IN '36 253

never was able to obtain a satisfactory answer. This concerned
the fundamental problem of population. Why are the Philip-
pines, probably the richest territory in the Far East from the
standpoint of natural resources, the most sparsely populated
Oriental country? With a total land area approximately the same
as that of Japan and an arable land area probably twice that of
Japan, the Philippines have a population of only about one fifth
that of the Japanese islands.

To the visitor from such densely populated countries as
China and Japan, Malaya, and the Netherlands Indies, the sparse-
ness of the population is the most noticeable feature of the
Philippine Islands. I asked many educated Filipinos for an ex-
planation, and the reasons which they gave ranged from the high
infant mortality rate to the effects of the peonage system which
had prevailed on the big landed estates. In pursuing my inquiry
I had one amusing experience. I asked the Filipino superintend-
ent of schools in one of the districts of southern Luzon for an
explanation. Instead of replying he called his wife and asked her
how many children they had. She replied, "Fourteen now, next
month fifteen." The superintendent told me that there was no
race suicide among the upper strata of the population, where
large families are the rule, and he felt that the proposed agrarian
reform, which would provide the peasant farmers with their
own land holdings, would result in a rapid increase in popula-
tion.

It had often been suggested that a quick way to rectify the
dearth of population would be to lower the immigration restric-
tions against the Chinese. There is already a large Chinese popu-
lation in the islands, but they are chiefly of the merchant and
professional classes. On occasion there has been strong opposi-
tion to Chinese businessmen due to their monopolistic control
in retail trade and the rice industry. On several occasions at-
tempts have been made to levy discriminatory taxes on Chinese
businessmen. Once during the Spanish regime there were serious
anti-Chinese riots in Manila, resulting in the death of many
Chinese, but in recent years the relations of the Chinese and the

254 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Filipinos have been friendly and there has been considerable
intermarriage between Chinese men and Filipino women. The
number of Chinese mestizos greatly outnumbered those of Span-
ish nationality. It is said that many of the more prosperous gold
mines in the Islands were opened by Chinese, some of them dat-
ing back to the twelfth century, as evidenced by specimens of
Chinese pottery and implements found in the mines.

Accompanied by an American familiar with the school sys-
tem, I visited a number of schools on Luzon Island. The progress
which had been made in popular education since the landing of
the original shipload of some six hundred American school
teachers soon after the occupation in 1898 was evidenced in
the well filled schoolhouses, which usually occupied the most
prominent buildings in the towns and villages.

The original American teachers had long since passed from
the scene, and their places had been taken by Filipinos, them-
selves a product of the early schools established by the Ameri-
cans. The terms of the Independence Act passed by Congress
required all instruction to be conducted in the English language.
I had to admit, however, after visiting several of the schools, that
I was unable to understand much of the English which was
taught by the native teachers. I did notice, however, that many
of the children were reading the American comics in the Manila
papers during the recess period.

It was while visiting the schools that I came to realize the
complications which the language problem presented. During
the long Spanish regime all educated Filipinos learned the Span-
ish language, which is still taught in some of the Church schools.
After the American occupation, English became the official and
commercial language. The rapid growth of nationalism in recent
years caused the Filipino leaders to advocate the use of Tagalog,
chief native dialect on the island of Luzon, as the official and
general language. I was told by an official of the Department of
Education that there were more than sixty dialects spoken by the
natives of the various islands, and that many groups were op-

THE PHILIPPINES IN '36 255

posed to the Tagalog dialect, which was spoken chiefly in the
Manila district.

The public school system and the use of American textbooks
were undoubtedly largely responsible for the development of
the democratic system which prevails throughout the nation. It
was also undoubtedly our policy of initiating local self-govern-
ment at the very beginning, with a view to ultimate jbndepend-
ence, that caused the Filipinos, alone among colonial peoples, to
side with us in the struggle with Japan following Pearl Harbor.
However, the influence of the Church, in this same connection,
should not be overlooked.

I was invited to deliver an address before one of the classes
at the University of the Philippines, and was astonished at the
students' knowledge of American history, particularly informa-
tion concerning outstanding events of national significance, and
information pertaining to the lives of outstanding characters in
America history. It occurred to me that the present generation
of home American high school, college and university students,
as well as their teachers, could benefit from the American educa-
tional program originally introduced in the Philippines.

XXIV
The Sian Incident

CHINA HAD EXPERIENCED many crises since the overthrow of
the Manchu Dynasty in 1911, but none which had more reper-
cussions, domestic and international, than the Sian Incident of
December 12, 1936. I was still in the Philippines, but, realizing
the seriousness of the crisis, hurried back to China. Excitement
was running high both at Shanghai and at the national capital
at Nanking when I arrived there a few days before Christmas.

The kidnaping of Chiang Kai-shek, commander-in-chief of
the Nationalist armies and head of the National Government,
practically paralyzed the Nanking Administration and provided
an opportunity for political dissension and intrigue, which had
been held in check only by the firm hand of the Generalissimo.

The confusion in the Government was aggravated by the
critical political situation prevailing throughout the Far East.
The countries most deeply concerned, aside from China, were
Japan and the Soviet Union. Germany and Italy were also in-
volved, as they were signatories, with Japan, of the so-called
Anti-Comintern Pact which preceded the later Japanese-Ger-
man-Italian military alliance. The Anti-Comintern Pact, directed
at the activities of Soviet Russia and the Third International,
had been signed in Berlin on November 25, 1936, less than a
month previously, hence played its part in precipitating the Sian
Incident as the three Powers, Japan, Germany and Italy, had
been exerting strong pressure on China to become a member of
the anti-communist accord.

The relations between Japan and China, and between Japan
and Russia, were already at the breaking point, due to Japan's

256

THE SIAN INCIDENT 257

occupation of Manchuria and the extension of Japan's military
activities westward into Inner Mongolia, which bordered on
Soviet-controlled Outer Mongolia.

The terms "Inner" and "Outer" as applied to the northern
and southern sections of Mongolia did not come into general
use on Chinese maps until after Soviet Russia's occupation of the
northern or undeveloped section of the territory, shortly after
the Soviet Revolution in 1917. Inner, or Southern Mongolia, had
already been cut up into the frontier Chinese provinces of
Chahar, Suiyuan, and Ningsia, and were settled largely by
Chinese farmers. Outer, or Northern Mongolia, which was still
populated by nomadic Mongolian tribes, had been organized by
the Soviet Russians into the "Mongolian People's Republic" and
incorporated into the Soviet Union.

The Russians, long apprehensive, were becoming increas-
ingly restless because the Japanese in their advance westward
would shortly be in a position to cut the overland routes through
Suiyuan and Sinkiang which connected China and the Soviet
Union.

The Soviet Union had already .begun to take steps to coun-
teract Japan's invasion of Inner Mongolia by sending troops
into Sinkiang or Chinese Turkestan. The Soviet troops were
dispatched from the Outer Mongolian province of Altai, which
the Russians had occupied in 1918 and renamed Tannu Tuva.
The troops were originally stationed in eastern Sinkiang directly
on the overland trail and motor road leading from Lanchow,
Kansu Province, to Urarnchi (Tihwa), capital of Sinkiang, and
thence to the Russian border.

The United States also had increasing cause for uneasiness
regarding the situation in the Far East, because of the expiration
of the Naval Limitation Treaty with Japan and Great Britain,
negotiated at the Washington Arms Conference in 1922. Japan
had finally denounced the treaty and asserted her right to con-
struct a navy "adequate to her needs." Our naval experts were
aware that the naval treaty had long been a dead letter, as the
Japanese had secretly exceeded their building quotas in certain

258 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

types of fighting craft and had completed strategic bases and
fortifications in the Pacific Islands which they had agreed not to
fortify*

As for the British, they were involved in an unexpected
domestic crisis which overshadowed even their vast interests in
the Far East. Edward VIII had just relinquished his throne and
had been succeeded by George VI. Reports of ominous develop-
ments in the Far Eastern situation were overshadowed by a story
on the front, page of the North China Daily News, leading
British paper in Shanghai, which carried the headline, "British
People Stunned with Disappointment; Deep Resentment that
Country Had Been Sacrificed for a Woman." Obviously the
British were in no frame of mind to worry about developments
in the Far East, when their King-Emperor had relinquished his
throne in order to marry an American woman.

Shanghai was seething with rumors concerning the welfare
of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The now Chinese-controlled
China Press, in an attempt to make the best of a bad situation,
expressed the hope that the mutiny of General Chang Hsueh-
liang and the Communists at Sian would result in further con-
solidating national unity. The same sentiment was expressed by
Dr. H. H. Kung, Minister of Finance, who temporarily suc-
ceeded Chiang Kai-shek as director of political affairs of the
government. He declared in an interview that "those who un-
furled the anti- Japanese banner as a pretext for shielding their
own questionable political behavior would shortly realize the
seriousness of the crisis which they had precipitated."

The Shanghai papers also published a brief dispatch from
Tokyo which stressed the critical relations between Japan and
the Soviet Union. The dispatch referred to the arrest of two
Japanese editors, Katsuhei Zama and Hirokichi Otake, on a
charge of turning over confidential documents concerning the
situation in Inner Mongolia to a Russian named Boris Rodov,
who was an attache of the Soviet Embassy. The documents
allegedly dealt with the activities of a certain Mongolian Prince

THE SIAN INCIDENT 259

Teh, who recently had gone over to the Japanese and had been
appointed chairman of the new puppet Government which the
Japanese army had set up in Inner Mongolia. Prince Teh, it
appeared, also had connections in the Russian sphere in Outer
Mongolia.

The secret pact which Japan and Germany were pressing
China to sign provided for the employment of special Japanese
advisers to the Chinese Government to watch over communistic
activities and to exercise control over "unlawful" activities of
Koreans in China. It also specified the suppression of all anti-
Japanese activities in China and the appointment of a joint Sino-
Japanese commission to revise all Chinese schoolbooks. In addi-
tion to these demands, which were presented to the Chinese
Foreign Minister, Chang Chun, by the Japanese Ambassador, S.
Kawagoe, the Japanese were also pressing Generalissimo Chiang
Kai-shek to agree to what amounted to Japanese suzerainty over
the political and military affairs of North China. A tentative un-
derstanding on this subject, known as the "Tangku Truce,"
which had been agreed upon by the Minister of War, General
Ho Ying-chin, and Japanese General Umetzu, on May 31, 1933,
had provoked violent anti-government demonstrations by the
students in Peiping. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had con-
tinuously sidestepped the Japanese demands, while working
strenuously to strengthen China's military position for the show-
down which he realized was inevitable. His trip to the northwest
for a conference with General Chang Hsueh-liang and other
officials in that area was made in an effort to consolidate the
situation there in the face of the coming clash with the Japanese.

It was the Generalissimo's second trip to Sian in recent months
in connection with the critical situation in the northwest, arising
from the conflicting interests and ambitions of Japan and the
Soviet Union in Mongolia and the rebellious attitude and political
intrigue of the Chinese Communists, who were gradually extend-
ing their influence in the northwest, chiefly in northern Shensi
and Suiyuan.

The Chinese communists had increased their army from

260 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

about 25,000 in 1928 to approximately 100,000. Opposed to the
communists were General Chang Hsueh-liang's army composed
of some 130,000 former Manchurian troops and some 40,000
Shensi provincial troops under General Yang Hu-cheng. Both
groups were underpaid and disgruntled, and an easy prey for
communist propaganda.

In order to understand the position of the Chinese Commu-
nists from the standpoint of domestic Chinese politics, it is neces-
sary to go back to 1927, when the Communists were expelled
from the Kuomintang Party and the Government. Unlike the
situation in other countries where civilian communist move-
ments exist, the Red faction in China is not only a political
party but also possesses a well equipped army.

When Chiang Kai-shek expelled the Communists from the
party, overthrew the Soviet regime they had set up in Hankow,
and broke off relations with the U.S.S.R., the Red forces with-
drew into the inaccessible mountainous districts between Kiangsi
and Fukien provinces, south of the Yangtze River. Other Red
forces which had operated in the Canton district and had tried
(without success) to establish a Soviet Government at the port
of Swatow, near Canton, had also withdrawn into the mountains
between Kiangsi and Fukien provinces, where they joined the
other groups.

The intention of the Communists to continue their defiance
of the Central Government was indicated in interviews with
various Chinese Red officials and their Soviet advisers, and with
American sympathizers who had fled to Moscow after the over-
throw of the Red regime at Hankow. Among those who at-
tempted to paint an optimistic future for communism in China
were Eugene Chen, former Foreign Minister at Hankow, and
Michael Borodin, the former Soviet adviser at Hankow.

But official Moscow had tired of the costly Chinese adven-
ture, and furthermore, the U.S.S.R. could spare no military or
naval forces in the Far East capable of dispatching relief to the
Chinese Communists at their headquarters in the Kiangsi moun-

THE SIAN INCIDENT 26 1

tains. The Chinese Soviet regime was therefore forced to shift
for itself, which it proceeded to do in characteristic fashion by
issuing paper money, collecting taxes, and instituting a land-
redistribution program among the farmers in Kiangsi Province,
where extensive land holdings by the gentry had long been
responsible for popular discontent among peasant farmers and
villagers. I still have in my possession a silver dollar minted by
the Chinese "Soviet Government" which contains the profile of
Lenin on one side and the sickle and hammer on the other.

Throughout most of the period from 1928 to 1934, Gen-
eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his associates were occupied in
consolidating the position of the Nanking Government and
fighting off rival military factions.

The Red factions in Kiangsi thus had a breathing spell in
which to reorganize their Soviet Government and re-establish
connections with Moscow. But the land-redistribution program
which the Communists initiated in Kiangsi precipitated a dis-
astrous famine in Northern Kiangsi and led ultimately to their
undoing. Strong opposition developed among the land-owning
gentry of Central China and the Chinese bankers in Shanghai,
whose loans were defaulted as a result of the socialization (con-
fiscation) program. Generalissimo Chiang, whose Government
was also under heavy obligations to the same bankers, was again
forced to take action against the Chinese Reds. He finally ac-
complished their evacuation of the Kiangsi mountains by block-
ading the coast of Fukien Province, building a chain of block-
houses on the land side which cut off their access to the Yangtze
River, and air-bombing their mountain bases.

In mid-October, 1934, the Reds, now numbering approxi-
mately 90,000 men, quietly slipped out of their mountain hiding
places and set out in search of a new location. Following the
mountainous regions along the provincial boundaries in South
and Southwest China, their trek developed into an epochal
march of approximately 4,000 miles before they reached their
new location in the northwest. They were able to make the long

262 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

trip through generally hostile territory, by marching in small
groups and sticking to the provincial boundaries. In this manner
they passed through Kweichow and Yunnan provinces in the
southwest, then turned north along the narrow mountain valleys
of the Upper Yangtze to Szechwan Province, thence over the
mountains to Kansu Province, and finally reached northern
Shensi, where they re-established their Soviet Government at
the town of Yenan, in territory adjacent to Russian-controlled
Outer Mongolia. The Reds were led on their long migration by
two well known Communist leaders, Chu Teh and Mao Tseh-
tung, both of whom had been trained in Moscow under
Trotsky and Radek.

Another Red group under the command of General Ho
Lung, which had been established in northern Hunan Province,
also withdrew and joined the Red Government at Yenan. A
third Red force, which styled itself the "anti- Japanese Fourth
Army," and had established itself in the mountains of Anhwei
Province on both banks of the Yangtze River, was broken up
by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and part of it was incor-
porated into the Nanking forces.

The remnants withdrew to the northwest, but not before
they had perpetrated one of the worst atrocities against Ameri-
can missionaries since the Nanking Incident in 1927. Two
youthful missionaries, the Reverend and Mrs. John Stam, were
seized with their two-weeks-old baby girl and were publicly
beheaded. The Stams, both recent graduates of the Moody Bible
Institute of Chicago, had only recently arrived in China and had
been assigned to Anhwei Province. Mrs. Stam, while being led
to the hill where execution took place, hastily wrapped her
baby in a bundle of old rags and tossed it into a Chinese house
along the route of march to the execution ground. The baby
was cared for by friendly Chinese peasants and was later re-
stored to its grandparents, the Reverend and Mrs. Charles Ernest
Scott, veteran Presbyterian missionaries in Shantung Province.

The execution of the Reverend and Mrs. Stam was staged on
a hill before a large crowd of country people and was accom-

THE SIAN INCIDENT 263

panied by an outburst of posters, banners and oratory, with the
bound victims standing by. The speeches and posters denounced
the United States and world capitalism, and extolled the Soviet
Union. After the helpless victims had been beheaded, the Reds
responsible for the atrocity issued a bombastic statement declar-
ing the execution of the young missionary couple had been
carried out in retaliation for the action of an American company
in selling to the Nanking Government airplanes which Gen-
eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek had used in bombing the Reds out of
their base in the mountains of KiangsL

It was estimated that not more than 25,000 out of the original
Red Army numbering some 90,000 survived the long trek to
northwest China. However, their strength was quickly replen-
ished, despite the barren, mountainous, and thinly populated
nature of the country to which they had migrated. By the
winter of 1936-37 they again claimed to have 100,000 troops.

Indications of impending trouble in the northwest had al-
ready appeared in the Shanghai newspapers in the form of dis-
patches from Sian telling of student parades and demonstrations
demanding a cessation of pressure against the Chinese Commu-
nists and the formation of a "united front" against the Japanese.
The Chinese Reds also utilized the services of an American
woman leftist, who delivered speeches which were broadcast in
both English and Chinese over the Communist radio stations.
The Chinese Communists were desirous of diverting Japanese
pressure from their own front and hoped that Chiang Kai-shek
could be forced to bear the weight of the Japanese onslaught. In
the background was undoubtedly also the hand of Moscow
desirous of diverting Japanese pressure from Siberia and Russian-
controlled Outer Mongolia. The Russians were anxious for
Japan to become involved still more deeply in China, knowing
full well that such involvement would ultimately lead to com-
plications with the United States and Great Britain. Although
disavowed in Moscow, evidence pointed to Russian influence as
a vital factor in the Sian incident.

264 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

I first met Chang Hsueh-liang (who played the unheroic role
of cat's-paw in the Sian Incident) at Mukden, in 1929 on the
occasion of the brief war between China and the Soviet Union.
Chang was then known as the "Young Marshal" to distinguish
him from his late father, Marshal Chang Tso-lin, who, as I have
told, was assassinated by the Japanese in 1928.

The Young Marshal was only thirty years old when he fell
heir to his father's vast fortune and the position of commander-
in-chief of the Government forces in Manchuria. He was ill pre-
pared for this responsible post, the most precarious administra-
tive position in the Chinese republic, as most of his life had been
spent as a playboy in Mukden, the Manchurian capital, and at
the old capital (Peking), or in his father's army. He spent one
year in military school in Japan, and upon his return was ap-
pointed commander of one of the Manchurian armies. Some-
where along the line he acquired the opium and morphine habits,
which remained with him for several years and greatly handi-
capped his career. He was finally cured by Dr. Miller, an Ameri-
can Seventh Day Adventist missionary physician at Shanghai.

Despite this, Chang Hsueh-liang was an ardent Nationalist
and devoted a considerable portion of his fortune to the develop-
ment of education in the Manchurian provinces. He endowed
the National Northeastern University and the Manchurian Mili-
tary Academy at Mukden, and was in process of developing a
system of general education throughout Manchuria when the
Japanese intervened in 1931. The Young Marshal had already
defied the Japanese in 1928, when he unfurled the Nationalist
flag over Government offices throughout Manchuria and an-
nounced that the Manchurian provinces had joined the Nation-
alist Government at Nanking. Again in 1929 he intervened at
Peiping to break up a coalition of disgruntled militarists and
politicians led by Wang Ching-wei which opposed General
Chiang Kai-shek and the new Government at Nanking. s

The Young Marshal was a patient in a Peiping hospital when
the Japanese staged the so-called Manchurian "incident" and

THE SIAN INCIDENT 265

seized Mukden on the night of September 18, 1931, hence his
troops in the vicinity of the Manchurian capital offered little
resistance to the invaders on that fateful occasion. After serving
in various posts under the Nanking Government, the Young
Marshal was appointed director of the so-called "bandit-sup-
pression" headquarters in southern Shensi Province, where his
chief job was to watch over the activities of the Chinese Com-
munists, who were again becoming troublesome in the north-
west. The Young Marshal had a force of 130,000 troops, made
up largely of remnants of defeated Manchurian armies. There
were also collected at his headquarters several hundred students
and teachers who had been forced to leave Manchuria, due to
the wholesale closing of the schools by the Japanese. Since most
of his fortune was invested in Manchurian lands, forests, and
mines which had been seized by the Japanese army, the Young
Marshal soon found himself in straitened circumstances and
forced to depend upon the Nanking Government for funds.
The result was that his troops were poorly paid and his schools
and governmental departments impoverished.

It had been known for several months that instead of oppos-
ing the Reds, the Young Marshal's forces were fraternizing with
them and permitting them to spread anti-Nanking propaganda
among the people in his territory. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-
shek had consistently opposed a policy of conciliation toward
the Chinese Communists since the original break between the
Kuomintang and the Reds at Shanghai, Nanking, and Hankow
in 1927. The Generalissimo regarded the Chinese Reds as crea-
tures of the Moscow Comintern and refused to negotiate with
them so long as they maintained their Russian connections and
their independent position in the northwest. It was thought
that the Generalissimo intended to dismiss the Young Marshal as
commander of the anti-Communist headquarters at Sian, and to
replace him with another member of his staff who would con-
tinue opposition to the Reds. Three days before the departure
of the Generalissimo for Sian, the Nanking Executive Yuan
(Council) had adopted a resolution reaffirming that the Chinese

266 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

foreign policy laid down by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
should remain as the guiding principle of the Central Govern-
ment and that the anti-Communist campaign in Northwest China
should be continued. Generalissimo Chiang was accompanied on
the trip to Sian by ten other high government officials, some of
them army commanders, and a small bodyguard. Among the
military officers was General Chiang Ting-wen, Pacification
Commissioner for Fukien Province, who was scheduled to re-
place the Young Marshal as commander of the anti-Red forces
in the northwest.

The northwestern frontier town of Sian where the dramatic
kidnaping of the Generalissimo and his staff was staged is about
seven hundred miles inland, due west from the shores of the
Yellow Sea. Aside from its strategic location on the ancient
northwest road connecting China and Central Asia, Sian is im-
portant historically as it was the seat of the Chou Dynasty,
which had its beginnings about 1122 B.C. and continued more
than eight centuries. The classical period of Chinese history,
which produced the famous scholars Confucius, Mencius, Lao
Tzu, and Mo Tzu, fell within the Chou era, and many of the
world's finest examples of ancient bronze art have come down to
us from the graves of Chou rulers in the vicinity of Sian. In this
area also were staged the wars between the houses of Chou and
Shang (1400 B.C.) for supremacy over the valleys of the Yellow
River and its tributary, the Wei, wherein dwelt the ancestors of
the Chinese people of today.

It was a fitting stage for the enactment of a modern drama of
Asiatic politics involving the political interests of China, Japan,
and Russia, and ultimately of the entire world.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek arrived at Sian by airplane
on December 7, and established his headquarters at a hot-springs
resort a short distance outside the city. The Generalissimo was
welcomed by Shao Li-tze, Civil Governor of Shensi, a former
newspaper editor from Shanghai, who had been appointed to the

THE SIAN INCIDENT 267

position by the Central Government. Civil Governor Shao had
charge of the local police force, which remained loyal to the
Generalissimo in the complicated developments of the following
days. It was the first important political mission undertaken by
the Generalissimo in many months when he was not accom-
panied by his wife, Mei-ling.

The days immediately following the Generalissimo's arrival
at Sian were occupied in conferences between the Generalissimo
and his staff and the Young Marshal, Chang Hsueh-liang, and
General Yang Hu-cheng, the provincial military chieftain. Little
was accomplished, as the Young Marshal and General Yang con-
stantly insisted on bringing into the conference local groups
which demanded immediate war against Japan. After four days
of futile conversation, the Generalissimo informed the Young
Marshal of the Government's determination to press the cam-
paign against the Communists. He insisted that it would be
suicidal to face war with Japan while the Communist army re-
mained in an independent position in thenorthwest. The Young
Marshal and his associate, General Yang, insisted that it would
be better to accept the Reds' terms and form a "united front" of
national resistance.

The Young Marshal insisted that the Central Government
assume responsibility for the financial support and munitioning
of some 270,000 troops in the northwestern territories. He was
not, however, in a position to give assurances that the "united
front" would accept the orders of the commander-in-chief of
the Nationalist Government. This may explain why the Young
Marshal had decided to bring the representatives of the Com-
munists into the negotiations with the Generalissimo.

Following a heated discussion which left the situation at a
deadlock, the Generalissimo retired to his private quarters on
the outskirts of the city, where he was protected by his small
bodyguard and a contingent of local police.

The Young Marshal immediately called a meeting of the
divisional commanders of his forces and those of General Yang
Hu-cheng, and issued secret orders to move a division of his own

268 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

troops and a regiment of General Yang's troops into the environs
of the city during the night, and by daylight the coup d'etat was
complete and the city entirely surrounded. The only resistance
encountered was from the Generalissimo's small bodyguard and
a contingent of loyal police at the hot-springs resort where the
Generalissimo was staying. Aroused by the firing, the Gen-
eralissimo and one of .his guards escaped from his sleeping quar-
ters and climbed over a high wall which surrounded the com-
pound. He might have succeeded in getting away had he not
sprained his ankle and been forced to hide in an abandoned
tornb. Here he was found by a young Manchurian officer, who
escorted him back to the building and ultimately to the city,
where he was confined in the private quarters of General Yang
Hu-cheng. The Civil Governor, Shao Li-tze, who with his
police remained loyal to the Generalissimo, was also arrested
and detained with Generalissimo Chiang's staff officers.

The announcement of the detention of the Generalissimo
created intense excitement throughout the city and was the
signal for demonstrations, mass meetings, and parades. The city
was quickly placarded with banners and posters denouncing
the Japanese-German-Italian Anti-Comintern Pact and demand-
ing a "united front" against Japan. The radicals were for a
Soviet-style public trial of the Generalissimo on the charge of
prosecuting the war against the Reds and failing to declare war
on Japan. Others favored taking the Generalissimo to some secret
hiding place in the northwest and holding him as a hostage until
Nanking called off the anti-Red war.

Up to this point there was no outward manifestation of Red
participation in the plot to kidnap the Generalissimo. But the
hand of the Chinese Communists was soon in evidence after the
Young Marshal dispatched a plane to the Communist head-
quarters at Yenan and transported three of the Red leaders to
Sian. They were Chou En-lai, Political Commissar of the First
Front Red Army and Deputy Chairman of the Red Military
Council; Yeh Chien-ying, chief of staff of the East Front Red

THE SIAN INCIDENT 269

Army; and Pao Ku, head of the Red Secret Police. They were
accompanied by several secretaries and assistants. Of the three
Communist envoys, Chou En-lai was remembered as the organ-
izer of armed laborers, strikers, and pickets in the plot to seize
Shanghai on behalf of the Communists at the time of the Nation-
alist Revolution in 1927. Chou was arrested by Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek but was released, whereupon he went to Mos-
cow for several months, later returning to join the Red regime
in Northern Shensi.

Not many hours elapsed before the perpetrators of the Sian
outrage realized the seriousness of their action. Of particular
significance were simultaneous disavowals from Moscow and
Tokyo, each denying any complicity in the plot, but at the same
time charging each other with the responsibility. The Moscow
papers printed bombastic reports denouncing the kidnaping of
the Generalissimo as the work of Wang Ching-wei and the
Japanese. Government officials in Tokyo charged that Marshal
Chang Hsueh-liang's action had been inspired by the Com-
munists, and declared it was an "object lesson" demonstrating
the necessity of China's joining the Anti-Comintern Pact im-
mediately.

The Tokyo paper, Hochi, declared that communist propa-
ganda for a "united front" was the same, whether in Spain or
China, and threatened that Japan would take action if Chang
Hsueh-liang attempted to form an anti-Japanese front with
Soviet Russia. The liberal Chinese paper, Ta Kung ?ao, charged
that the Japanese had taken advantage of the Sian crisis to
increase their pressure on China to sign the anti-communist
defense agreement. The Tokyo Nichi-NicM declared that the
Chinese Communist Army of Chu Teh and Mao Tseh-tung was
steadily gaining in strength and was watching for an oppor-
tunity to seize the central power in China.

XXV
A Bear by the Tail

IN NANKING i SAW. A COPY of a circular telegram said to have
been dispatched from the Young Marshal's headquarters in Sian
to all important government offices and newspapers in the national
capital. The telegram explained that the detention of the Gen-
eralissimo was necessary "in order to stimulate his awakening
to certain national and international problems." The telegram
was not signed by any of the principals in the affair, and carried
only the signatures of divisional commanders of the Young Mar-
shal's and General Yang's troops. While it contained no signa-
tures of Communist leaders, it embraced all the demands which
the Communists had previously made on the Central Govern-
ment, including a cessation of civil war, the formation of a
"united front," and the release of political prisoners at Shanghai
who had been arrested for inciting strikes and for financing
seditious publications. The telegram demanded a reorganization
of the governmental offices to admit "all political parties."
"Finally the telegram demanded that a military alliance be ne-
gotiated with the Soviet Union.

Nanking was seething with excitement and unrest, which
the Government was having difficulty in holding in check. Cer-
tain military groups were urging the Government to take drastic
action, including the bombing of Sian and the moving of govern-
ment troops against the Young Marshal's forces in southern
Shensi. It was suspected that some of those urging drastic action
were less interested in rescuing the Generalissimo than in inciting
the recalcitrant troops to murder him. There was criticism of
the Generalissimo for having gone to Sian with only a smalj

270

A BEAR BY THE TAIL 271

bodyguard to negotiate with the Young Marshal, "when he
should have ordered the army to move against him." The excite-
ment grew when a telegram, purporting to have been sent by the
Generalissimo, was received, stating that he had been wounded
and warning Madame Chiang Kai-shek against attempting to
come to Sian to assist him.

Never had the Nanking Government been faced with such
a predicament, as a hostile move against Sian might well result
in the assassination of the Generalissimo and at a time of crisis
when he was practically the only military man in the country
around whom all factions could rally.

But help came from an unexpected quarter.

W. BL Donald, an Australian newspaperman, who had lived
in China for many years, was in Nanking serving as an adviser
to the Generalissimo. As soon as he learned of Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek's predicament he went to Dr. H. H. Kung,
who had been appointed acting head of the Government, and
volunteered to fly to Sian to investigate the situation and offer
his services to the Generalissimo. A few years previously Donald
had served as an adviser on the staff of the Young Marshal, then
head of the Manchurian Administration, and knew him well.

Donald had a wide acquaintance with other Chinese officials
and foreign diplomats, for whom he had performed many impor-
tant and confidential services, but in all his many years of ex-
perience he had never been faced with the problem of rescuing
the head of a government from a rebellious faction determined
to use this extraordinary method to force an alteration in funda-
mental state policies.

Donald had been a cub reporter on a Hong Kong paper
when James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald sailed into
the harbor aboard his palatial yacht on a trip around the world.
Bennett formed a liking for the youthful reporter, and appointed
him as the Herald's correspondent in the Far East.

I first met Donald at the old capital, Peking, during World
War I when he was serving as the director of a bureau of in-

272 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

formation which the Chinese Government had set up, its first
attempt at international public relations.

Due to his long acquaintance with the Young Marshal and
his familiarity with the complicated political situation, Donald
was in a position to offer sound advice to both the Young
Marshal and the Generalissimo. Donald stopped over night at
Loyang, headquarters of government troops in Honan, where he
conferred with the commander in charge and also dispatched tele-
grams to the Young Marshal apprising him of his expected arrival
the next morning at Sian. While in Loyang Donald also famil-
iarized himself with the location of the nearest troop concentra-
tions and air bases. The largest garrison was at Tungkwan, the
narrow gorgelike pass along the Yellow River leading from
Honan into Shensi. This pass was held by Nanking troops,
which could march on the Young Marshal at a moment's notice.
The same was true of the air base at Loyang, where several
bombers were available. Donald knew that the presence of the
Government's forces would have a sobering effect on the Young
Marshal's officers and on the Communist-inspired students and
teachers who were advocating drastic action against the person
of the Generalissimo.

Donald was met at the Sian air field by a representative of
the Young Marshal, who escorted him to the latter's headquar-
ters. Before leaving the air field Donald had an opportunity to
observe that the Generalissimo's planes were undamaged. After
a short talk with the Young Marshal, Donald was taken to the
Generalissimo's quarters, where further discussion took place.

Donald then wrote a brief report, which he sent to Nanking.
The report stated that Chiang Kai-shek was not seriously injured,
and that he desired a competent government official to come to
Sian to negotiate; it asked that troop movements along the
Honan-Shensi border be delayed.

According to Donald's later report, the Young Marshal and
his associates quickly realized that they "had a bear by the tail,"
for the Generalissimo was adamant in his original position that
the Communists must be suppressed by force unless they were

A BEAR BY THE TAIL 273

willing to submit to Government control of their army and terri-
tory. Whenever the Generalissimo tired of listening to the argu-
ments of his captors he would retire to his quarters and read his
Bible. In reply to criticisms of his policy toward Japan he handed
over to his captors a copy of his private diary. Here the rebel
leaders learned for the first time of Chiang's innermost thoughts
on Japan and of his efforts to unify the country in preparation
for the inevitable reckoning with Japan. His captors were par-
ticularly impressed by a passage in the diary in which the Gen-
eralissimo uttered a prayer that he might be given ten years in
which to prepare the country for war. The prayer had been made
five years previously, hence only half the time he regarded as
necessary had elapsed.

When he had received assurances that the Generalissimo would
not be harmed, Donald returned to Nanking, bringing with
him General Chiang Tung-wen, who was to have taken over
the command at Sian if the Young Marshal had refused to
move against the Communists.

After hearing Donald's report, the standing committee of the
Central Executive Committee (or yuan) of the Nanking Gov-
ernment adopted resolutions branding the Young Marshal a
rebel and stripping him of all of his official posts and honors.
They also demanded the immediate release of the Generalissimo
and ordered a military expedition against the Sian rebels in case
this demand was not complied with immediately.

Acting under these instructions General Ho Ying-chin, Min-
ister of War, ordered the mobilization of twenty divisions of
troops along the Honan-Shensi border and directed that several
squadrons of bombers be concentrated at Loyang in western
Honan to conduct demonstrations over Sian and other border
cities controlled by the Young Marshal and General Yang Hu~
cheng. It was rumored that the Minister of War had issued orders
for the bombing of the outskirts of Sian but that the orders were
held up at the urgent request of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who
insisted upon going to Sian to join her husband.

274 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

A serious controversy developed over this delay, some officials
urging that, after all, Madame Chiang Kai-shek was only a wife
arguing for the life of her husband and that this should not be
permitted to interfere with vital matters of policy. She was
charged with using her influence with her brother-in-law, Dr.
H. H. Kung, to prevent the Government from moving against
the rebel factions.

Another controversy developed as to which official of the
Government should accompany Donald back to Sian and what
instructions should be given him concerning negotiations, if it
was decided to negotiate instead of fight. The Young Marshal
demanded that Dr. H. H. Kung, Finance Minister, be sent to
Sian with power to negotiate a financial settlement. Donald stated
that the Generalissimo was adamant in his refusal to negotiate
under duress, and had merely shrugged his shoulders when in-
formed that a powerful faction in Nanking was advocating
military action, including the bombing of Sian. Donald also re-
ported privately that the dissension which prevailed in the rebel
camp had prevented the radical factions from getting together on
any scheme for exploiting the Generalissimo's predicament polit-
ically; some groups advocated public trial in the Russian fashion,
while others demanded the staging of a public execution of the
Generalissimo. Neither the Young Marshal nor Yang Hu-cheng
wanted the Generalissimo to suffer personal injury or to be
executed, as such an action would certainly precipitate open
warfare with the Central Government. The delegates from the
Communist camp when they arrived at Sian concurred in this
view, as they likewise did not wish to kill the goose which was
expected to lay golden eggs.

When Donald flew back to Sian he was accompanied, not
by Dr. H. H. Kung, but by Madame Chiang Kai-shek, wife of
the Generalissimo, and her brother, T. V. Soong, former Finance
Minister, who was then chairman of the board of the Bank of
China. Both Soong and his sister were authorized to conduct
negotiations for the release of the Generalissimo.

A BEAR BY THE TAIL 275

After a brief stop-over and conference with government mili-
tary leaders at Loyang in Western Honan, the planes carrying
the Nanking party arrived at Sian on the morning of December

17-

The representatives of the Nanking Government at Sian,
aside from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, were Madame
Chiang, T. V. Soong, W. H. Donald, and several assistants. On
the side of the rebels were the Young Marshal Chang Hsueh-
liang and the provincial militarist, Yang Hu-cheng, and their
assistants, including a young Manchurian officer, Lieutenant
Sun Ming-chiu, who probably saved the Generalissimo's life on
the night of the Sian rebellion. Also in Sian at the time were the
three representatives of the Communist Party, Chou En-lai, Yeh
Chien-ying and the mystery man, Pao Ku. They had just arrived
from the Communist Army headquarters at Yenan in Northern
Shensi, on a private plane supplied by the Young Marshal.

The only personal account of the happenings at Sian which
took place between December ij and Christmas of 1937 which
has not been published is that of the Young Marshal. He returned
to Nanking on the same plane with the Generalissimo, but he
was a prisoner, and has remained a prisoner since, somewhere
in West China. Of the other participants in the "political drama"
of Sian, both the Generalissimo and Madame Chiang have issued
complete reports of their side of the controversy. Generalissimo
Chiang declared in his diary that he did not sign any agreement
and insisted throughout the conference on the submission of the
northwest political and military elements to the Central Govern-
ment.

The Communist angle as well as the Red situation in general
in Northwest China has been presented voluminously by several
American writers.

W. H. Donald, the Australian newspaperman, who served in
the important role of mediator in the Sian Incident and who
probably knows more than anyone else about the innermost
details of the incident, was a prisoner of the Japanese in the
Philippines. He was engaged in writing his memoirs when the

276 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Japanese took over the islands, together with his yacht which he
had built in Hong Kong for a South Seas cruise. He was
released following General MacArthur's capture of Manila early
in 1945.

T. V. Soong, former Finance Minister and Shanghai banker,
who also played a prominent part in the negotiations for the
Generalissimo's release, has likewise remained silent. The size
of the check he is said to have handed over in exchange for the
release of his illustrious brother-in-law has never been disclosed.

Since the Sian negotiations were conducted in secret and no
official report of the outcome was published, there is still specula-
tion as to what actually happened. The most obvious result of the
Sian Incident was apparent just seven months later at Peiping.
It was written in letters of blood for the world to read war!
War between China and Japan, and ultimately involving the
entire world.

One result of the Sian Incident was an unexpected trip abroad
for Dr. H. H. Kung, Minister of Finance in the Nanking Gov-
ernment. Dr. Kung's trip resulted from a confidential proposal
of the Soviet Government that China take steps to form a mili-
tary alliance against Japan. Moscow was especially anxious that
the United States be brought into the alliance, but Soviet official-
dom realized it would be futile for them to make the proposal.
The Russians therefore urged China to send a mission abroad to
sound out the various Powers. Russia, in fear of a Japanese attack,
promised China full military support and agreed to send ample
military supplies to the Chungking Government by way of the
ancient highway across Sinkiang. Moscow also promised Nan-
king that there would be no further conplications concerning
the Chinese Communists, who would give their full support to
the Central Government in its resistance to Japanese aggression.
Dr. Kung did not realize the full import of his mission until
he reached Berlin and was apprised of Germany's plans to wage
war against the .Soviet Union. Dr. Kung was told by the Nazi
leaders to advise his government to join the Anti-Comintern
Alliance of Germany-Japan-Italy without delay.

A BEAR BY THE TAIL 277

When Dr. Kung reached Moscow he found the Russians
had cooled on their proposal for a Chinese-United States-Soviet
anti-Japanese alliance. Moscow now realized that war with Ger-
many was inevitable, and did not want to do anything to pro-
voke the Japanese to attack Russsia on the eastern flank. It was
not long until the Chinese Communists also ceased their attacks
on the Japanese army in northwestern China.

XXVI
Sequel of Sian

CONTRARY TO EXPECTATIONS in many quarters the outcome
of the Sian Incident greatly enhanced Generalissimo Chiang Kai-
shek's prestige. Influential political and military leaders, particu-
larly in the South, who had refused to give active support to
Nanking, now declared their readiness to cooperate with the
Generalissimo in opposing the Japanese. One of the Southern
politico-military leaders who declared their readiness to support
Generalissimo Chiang was General Tsai Ting-kai, famous Can-
tonese commander who had resisted the Japanese invasion of
Shanghai early in 1932, following the Manchurian Incident.
Later, General Tsai broke with Nanking and retired to the
British Colony of Hong Kong. Two other important military
commanders, General Pai Chung-hsi and General Li Tsung-jen
of Kwangsi Province, both of whom had distinguished them-
selves in the Nationalist Revolution, also declared their readiness
to support Chiang Kai-shek in resisting Japanese aggression.
General Li Tsung-jen declared that in his opinion China could
hold out against Japan for ten years.

The Japanese interpreted the outcome of the Sian affair as
further evidence of the growth of communism in China, and
urged that stronger pressure be exerted on Nanking by the Japa-
nese Government to force China to join the Anti-Comintern
group. Since the Manchurian Incident the Japanese had confined
their activities south of the Great Wall to diplomatic pressure
at Nanking; but there were hints of more ominous moves. The
Japanese navy had landed sailors and seized the harbor area at
Tsingtao on the Shantung coast, in retaliation for the action of

278

SEQUEL OF SIAN 279

the Chinese customs authorities in attempting to break up a gang
of Japanese smugglers. There also were strikes of large numbers
of Chinese laborers in Japanese cotton mills at Tsingtao. Since
the settlement of the Shantung Question at the Washington
Arms Limitation Conference in 1922, the Japanese had greatly
increased their investments at Tsingtao, particularly in cotton
manufacturing. Relations between the Chinese and Japanese at
the Shantung port had been generally peaceful up to the time
of the Manchurian Incident.

The Japanese army newspaper Shanghai Nippo, commenting
on the outcome of the Sian rebellion, declared that the Nanking
Government should now be willing to accept Japan's proposal
for "joint action against the Russian-supported Chinese Reds."
The paper declared, "Nanking has now reached the cross-roads
and must decide the Government's future course. . . . Should
the Nationalist Government continue to avoid giving a definite
answer to Japan's proposals and should Generalissimo Chiang
Kai-shek attempt to carry out the agreement by which his
release was effected, then the Japanese Government will harden
its attitude toward China. . . . The Sian episode has made
Chinese-Japanese relations more critical than before the inci-
dent." The paper declared that the civil war in Spain was a
prologue to a new world war, and the Chinese would have to
decide their attitude toward Japan "according to developments
in the international situation. . . . Should Chiang Kai-shek
utilize the new world war for a fight with Japan, he will become
China's grave-digger."

In mid-January of 1937 there was a report from Sian stating
that an American woman "with communist sympathies and hav-
ing connections with leftist groups in the United States" had
arrived in Sian and had delivered several addresses before mass
meetings of students. The report said that several Chinese
Communist leaders, including Chu Teh, Mao Tseh-tung, Chou
En-lai, and others had arrived in Sian to confer with her. The
report alleged that the Shensi War Lord, Yang Hu-cheng, had
sent an ultimatum to Nanking declaring that if Generalissimo

280 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Chiang Kai-shek "did not open war immediately on Japan, the
Communist army would attack the Nanking Government."

There were further ominous reports from North China, lead-
ing to the belief that Japan was actively preparing for further ad-
ventures south of the Great Wall into China proper. Japan had
been in control of Manchuria for five years, and had converted
that rich Chinese territory into a tightly controlled Japanese war
base. Using the forced labor of tens of thousands of Chinese,
the Japanese had built strategic railways and highways to vul-
nerable points on the Siberian and Outer Mongolian borders.
The League of Nations at Geneva, after investigating the Man-
churian Incident and condemning Japan for stealing her neigh-
bor's territory, had lapsed into a silence from which it never
awakened. Both Hitler and Mussolini extended diplomatic rec-
ognition to Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo. They chose the
time of the Sian episode for their gesture of contempt for both
China and the Comintern. ' : * \

In view of the large number of reports indicating growing
uneasiness in North China, I decided to make a trip to Peiping
and Tientsin, where trouble seemed to be brewing.

The Japanese were feverishly pushing their plans for further
military moves, but whether southward into China proper or
northward into Russian Siberia, or whether in both directions,
could not be determined. It was no longer a question whether the
Japanese would strike, but where and when.

From Peiping I went on to Kalgan, the strategic frontier city
at the gateway in the Great Wall northwest of the ancient capi-
tal, Peking, now Peiping. Kalgan is on the border between North
China and Mongolia, and is located at the intersection of two
important ancient highways, one leading from Peiping to Urga,
capital of Mongolia, and the other leading from Peiping west-
ward to Russia and Central Asia. The railway leading from
Peiping to Kalgan crosses the famous Nankow Pass in the Great
Wall, a few miles south of Kalgan.

Immediately after I arrived at the dusty Mongolian town, I

SEQUEL OF SIAN 28 1

went to the yamen or headquarters of General Sung Cheh-yuan,
who commanded the border defense troops. The Chinese word
yamen means, literally, "flag-gate," indicating the headquarters
of the chief military commander. As I entered the compound
filled with low brick- and mud-walled buildings, I involuntarily
thought of the long procession of Mongolian conquerors, begin-
ning with the greatest of all conquerors, Genghis Khan, who had
ridden their horses through that gateway in the ancient mud-
walled official compound and held audiences with other equally
fierce horsemen from the plains, deserts and steppes of northern
and central Asia. Shortly another conqueror, less picturesque
than the dashing horsemen of the plains, was destined to pass
through the same flag-gate.

The situation in Kalgan became tense as the Japanese com-
pleted their conquest of Jehol Province, ancient summer home
of the Manchus located to the north of Peiping, and prepared
to move westward into Chahar and Suiyuan provinces, which,
with the province of Ningsia, make up Inner Mongolia.

There had already been serious fighting between the Japanese
and General Sung Cheh-yuan's troops on the border between
Jehol and Chahar. In reply to my questions General Sung assured
me of his intention to oppose Japanese military penetration into
Inner Mongolia. I noticed, however, that General Sung appeared
nervous and apprehensive, and evaded most of my questions.
That night as I boarded the train back to Peiping, I was sur-
prised to see General Sung's secretary on the train. The secretary
admitted that General Sung was also on the train; that he had
received instructions from Nanking to transfer his headquarters
to Peiping, where too the situation was becoming critical. Gen-
eral Sung was one of the few commanders who put up even
weak resistance to the Japanese in Manchuria. Most of the
other subordinate commanders under the Young Marshal had
simply withdrawn their troops without offering battle, saying
that they were obeying orders from the Nationalist Govern-
ment at Nanking, that the question of Japan's invasion of Man-

282 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

churia had been referred to the League of Nations, and that
China had agreed to abide by the League's decision. General
Sung, however, had put up a fight at the Hsifengkow Pass in
the Great Wall directly north of Peiping.

The struggle for the control of Inner Mongolia centered
about the town of Pailingmiao, located about three hundred miles
northwest of Kalgan on the northern edge of Suiyuan Province
adjacent to the Outer Mongolian border. The town was im-
portant as a communications center, and also was the head-
quarters of the Mongolian branch of the Buddhist religion. There
were numerous Lama temples and monasteries and a large con-
gregation of Lama priests from both Inner and Outer Mongolia
and Tibet. I had already observed evidence of the fighting at
Pailingmiao at Peiping, where the curio shops were filled with
religious pictures, jewelry, and other articles which had been
looted from the Lama temples in the vicinity of Pailingmiao.
According to information supplied me by General Sung Cheh-
yuan, the Japanese had plotted with the young and ambitious
Mongolian Prince Teh (official name, Teh-Mu-Chu-Keh-Tung-
Lu-Pu) , to establish a so-called "Great Mongol Empire," which
was to extend westward from Jehol Province to Sinkiang in cen-
tral Asia. Pailingmiao, because of its location and religious sig-
nificance, had been selected as the political capital of the new
puppet state. Large quantities of military supplies and provisions
secretly purchased by the Japanese had been sent there in prep-
aration for a coup d'etat, Japan's ultimate objective being to
establish a buffer state which would cut off China from direct
contact with the Soviet Union.

When the Chinese commander in Suiyuan, General Fu
Tso-yi, learned of the Japanese plan, he sent troops to Pailingmiao
and after some fighting occupied the city, including the Lama
temples. A number of Japanese agents and spies found in the
city were executed.

The penetration of the Japanese army into Chahar and Sui-
yuan provinces from the Japanese base in Jehol was finally
blocked at Paotow, at the end of the railway, which is about

SEQUEL OF SIAN 283

four hundred miles west of Peiping on the upper reaches of the
Hwangho, or Yellow River. This had marked the most western
point of Japanese penetration, and probably indicates the mutu-
ally agreed-upon line of demarcation between the Japanese and
Russian spheres of influence in China's northwestern territories.
The Chinese Communist Army's territory is directly west of this
area, within the Russian sphere.

With their position thus consolidated in both Manchuria and
Inner Mongolia, the Japanese army leaders were ready for fur-
ther ambitious moves. Would their next advance be north or
south? I did not have to wait long for an answer.

In his new position as head of the Political Council at
Peiping, General Sung Cheh-yuan had to face the new Japanese
onslaught on China proper south of the Great Wall. The Japa-
nese had already begun the "softening" process preliminary to
more drastic moves. An ultimatum was presented to the Peiping
Political Council forcing that body to consent to the demilitariza-
tion of twenty-two hsiens or counties of the northern area of
Hopei Province lying directly south of the Great Wall. Follow-
ing the withdrawal of Chinese troops, the Japanese formed a
puppet administration in the district, which they called the "East
Hopei Anti-Communist and Autonomous Government."

I interviewed the head of the puppet set-up, a Chinese named
Yin Ju-keng, at his headquarters a few miles east of Peiping. He
admitted his role without shame, and disclosed interesting details
of Japanese procedure in dealing with the inhabitants of terri-
tories occupied by the Japanese army. First, the Japanese army
appointed advisers to serve with each county magistrate through-
out the area. The advisers were specially trained in schools set
up for the purpose in Tokyo and in Manchuria. The Japanese
army then ordered the gentry or property owners of the district
to raise a "peace preservation corps," which was trained and
officered by Japanese army men. All Chinese farmers were com-
pelled to join cooperative societies, which were controlled by the
Japanese. All textbooks in the school had to be purchased from

284 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the "Sino-Japanese Cultural Society/ 5 and every school was re-
quired to subscribe to and keep on file certain specified puppet
newspapers. All middle schools were ordered to employ Japanese
teachers to give instruction in the Japanese language, and the
Japanese teachers had orders to deliver daily "advisory speeches"
to the pupils. There was established in each city and town a Japa-
nese-language "research council" for the purpose of teaching and
interpreting the Japanese language to Chinese adults.

As a result of the expulsion of Chinese police and customs
officials, the district became the center of vast smuggling and
narcotic enterprises participated in by Japanese, Koreans, and
Chinese criminals.

When I arrived in Tientsin early in June, 1937, I found the
Chinese population absorbed in what the newspapers called the
"corpse mystery." The sensation completely eclipsed local inter-
est in the approaching war.

Prominently displayed on the front pages of the Chinese
papers was an announcement by the Provincial Governor, Gen-
eral Sung Cheh-yuan, that a reward of $5,000 would be paid to
anyone supplying information concerning 107 corpses which had
been found floating in the Hai-ho, the tidal river which connects
Tientsin with the sea. The bodies were all of the male sex, and
ranged from twenty to forty years of age. None of the bodies,
it was said, showed evidence of physical violence.

When I called at the local Defense Commissioner's office to
inquire concerning the mystery, I was shown a number of
pictures of bodies which had been removed from the river. My
attention was directed to a particular group of six bodies, one
of which had "come alive," after being dragged from the water.
It appeared that this man had fallen, or had been thrown, into
a shallow place where his face had not been submerged. He was
sent to a hospital and, upon regaining consciousness, disclosed
the mystery of the 107 corpses. This man, named Chia Yung-chi,
thirty years of age, was found to be suffering from heroin
poisoning. All he remembered was that he had accompanied a

SEQUEL OF SIAN 285

number of fellow peasant laborers from the interior, to a resort
in the Japanese Concession where opium and heroin were being
smoked. He had considerable money in his pocket, representing
his savings from a season's work in Manchuria. His money and
most of his clothing were gone when he was dragged from the
river. The last he remembered was that he had smoked some
heroin cigarettes which a girl had sold to him in the resort.

Investigation disclosed that all of the corpses which had been
fished out of the river probably represented victims of heroin
and opium dens operated by the Japanese in their Concession at
Tientsin. The 107 bodies recovered were probably a small per-
centage of the actual number of victims, as the tide in the river
was strong at that point and might have swept most of them out
to sea. It was disclosed that it had long been the practice of the
police in the Japanese Concession to send a truck through the
streets and alleys of the section where the dope dens were located,
to pick up the bodies of victims, transport them to the river bank,
and dump them in when the tide was running out to sea. It was
said that the police who collected the bodies paid little attention
to whether the victims were alive or dead. In the winter when
the river was frozen, the bodies were dumped through a hole in
the ice.

As a result of the disclosure, the Chinese municipality and
provincial authorities established cheap hostels where the la-
borers were looked after until they could be sent back to their
homes. Tientsin had always served as a vast labor camp where
coolie laborers from the interior provinces congregated while
waiting for employment by labor contractors who transported
them to Manchuria for work on railroad, mine, or forestry
projects. After the Japanese occupied the Manchurian provinces
they restricted the influx of Chinese laborers and farmers from
North China, but this had little effect on the number which
flocked into Tientsin looking for jobs.

I visited several of the cheap hostels which the local Chinese
authorities set up to take care of the laborers, and careful inquiry

286 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

showed that a large percentage had become addicts of the Japa-
nese heroin traffic which had practically superseded the older
opium-smoking habits of the wealthier classes of the Chinese. The
Chinese administered heroin in two ways, by hypodermic injec-
tion in the forearms, or by smoking the powder in cigarettes.
In many of the low-class heroin dives which I inspected I ob-
served Chinese young men purchasing small packets of heroin
in the form of white powder for as low a price as ten or twenty
cents. They would take an ordinary cigarette and shake out
about a quarter of the tobacco, then fill the empty part with
heroin powder. In smoking they would carefully hold the ciga-
rette at a 45-degree angle in order to prevent the heroin from
spilling out. Japanese dealers also sold patent cigarette holders
with the bowl or receptacle set at an angle on top of the stem in
order to facilitate the smoking of heroin cigarettes. The Chinese
name for this type was "airplane smokes."

I was told that the heroin habit acquired in this way was prac-
tically impossible to break. I visited the streets named Hashidate,
Hanazowa, Kotobuko, Komai and others in the Japanese Con-
cession, where practically every shop was given over to heroin
manufacture or sale. I was accompanied on the trip by a New
York business acquaintance, and when we reached one of the
streets our taxi was practically mobbed by "runners" from the
various houses soliciting our trade. The shops, which usually
had sleeping quarters upstairs, were easily distinguished by a sign
extending out from the wall upon which were written two
Chinese characters reading "Yang Hang," meaning "Foreign
Firm." The Japanese and Korean proprietors used the name
"Foreign Firm" supposedly for the purpose of creating the im-
pression among the customers that the shops were owned by
Europeans.

A further type of heroin-dispensing resort which was prev-
alent in Manchurian cities and was also found in Tientsin con-
sisted of an ordinary type of residence, on the front of which
was constructed a boxlike structure resembling a large vestibule.
Heroin addicts would enter the vestibule and knock on the door

SEQUEL OF SIAN 287

leading into the house. A small sliding panel would be opened,
and the customer would be told to thrust his bared arm through
the aperture, with the appropriate amount of money in his hand.
The money would be taken, and the customer would receive a
hypodermic jab in his arm. . '

The production of heroin in Japanese factories in Tientsin
and Dairen had grown to enormous proportions, but prepared
opium for old-fashioned smoking purposes was still in sufficient
demand to enable the Japanese to maintain an elaborate establish-
ment consisting of a large hotel which had been adapted for the
purpose. The furniture was removed and in its place were sub-
stituted cheap wooden platforms or bunks covered with grass
matting and a small hard pillow or head-rest at the end. A narrow
aisle extending down the center of the room provided access to
the beds or divans. The smokers would come in, usually in pairs,
frequently a man and woman. They would recline on the mat-
ting bunks facing each other, with the opium paraphernalia be-
tween them. An attendant, usually a little Korean girl about ten
or twelve years old, would then bring two pipes, a small alcohol
lamp, and a small tin or porcelain container holding the opium,
which resembled thick black molasses. Taking a small metal wire
resembling a knitting needle, the girl attendant would dip one
end into the sticky opium and turn it about until she had accumu-
lated a considerable portion on the end of the wire. She would
then hold the opium over the flame and revolve it rapidly in
order to prevent it from igniting into a blaze. After the little ball
of opium had begun to smoke the girl attendant would quickly
remove it and hold the smoking ball on the end of the wire
directly over the small aperture in the metal bowl of the pipe.
The smoker would draw a deep breath, filling his lungs with the
sickeningly sweet fumes of the opium. They would repeat the
process two or three times, until they fell asleep. Each process
was called a "pipe'* or a "smoke," and usually cost one dollar in
Chinese currency, equivalent to about thirty cents in American
currency. If the house also supplied the woman companion, the
charge was usually five dollars.

288 MY TWENfY-FlVE YEARS IN CHINA

The establishment which I visited was located on Asahi Road,
the chief street in the Japanese Concession. There were probably
two dozen rooms on each of the six floors, and each room con-
tained divans for ten or fifteen smokers. There was no privacy
for the smokers, and there was no attempt at concealment, as
the house was open the full twenty-four hours and was brilliantly
illuminated. Fumes of the burning opium in hundreds of pipes
could be smelled a block away.

The Chinese authorities, unable to prevent the wholesale
debauchery of their citizens who resided within the Japanese
Concession, adopted drastic regulations, including the death pen-
alty, for opium smokers and dealers in the surrounding Chinese-
controlled territory. But the Chinese fight against the narcotic
evil was a futile struggle, because opium and its derivatives,
morphine and heroin, were as much a part of Japanese aggression
as were the rifles in the hands of Japanese soldiers. Japanese laws
against the use of narcotics in Japan were rigorously enforced. No
Japanese subject was permitted to use or dispense narcotics in
Japan, but thousands of Japanese and Korean subjects of Japan
are encouraged to engage in the traffic among subject peoples
in occupied territory on the continent and insular possessions.
The intimate connection between the Imperial Japanese Army
and the drug traffic probably will not be disclosed until Japan
has her overdue revolutionary housecleaning, but it was alleged
that the morphine and heroin factories at Tientsin and Dairen
were operated directly by the Special Service Section of the
army. (In Shanghai the opium-smoking resorts which operated
in connection with the gambling establishments were certainly
controlled by the S.S.S.)

Heroin and morphine were not the only products being
smuggled in by the Japanese at that time, W. R. Myers, an
American citizen, who occupied the post of Commissioner of the
Chinese Maritime Customs at Tientsin, told me that Japanese
merchandise smuggled into North China from the Japanese
zone and Manchuria amounted to about $10,000,000 monthly,
despite the fact that the Chinese authorities were able to seize

SEQUEL OF SIAN 289

about one-third before it reached its destination. The merchan-
dise, consisting of cotton goods, rayon, sugar, kerosene, and ciga-
rettes, usually arrived at isolated customs stations on armed trucks
about midnight. After driving away the guards the trucks would
proceed to inland points where the materials were sold at bargain
prices. An American merchant at Tientsin showed me a circular
he received from a Japanese customs broker offering his services
in smuggling in American goods at fees far below the Chinese
customs rates.

Of most serious import, the "demilitarized zone" served as a
concentration and training base for Japanese soldiers brought in
from Manchuria and Japan.

Most persons thought the Japanese blow would fall at the
port of Tientsin, where the situation had been strained for many
months, due to widespread purchase of land and industrial prop-
erty by Japanese speculators in violation of Chinese orders
against the sale of real estate to aliens. Tipped off by friends in
the army, hordes of Japanese adventurers flocked to Tientsin to
purchase land and developed property, in expectation of hand-
some profits following the Japanese intervention.

A member of the staff of the American consulate at Tientsin
called my attention to a report he had translated from one of
the Chinese papers, stating that an organization of Japanese
known as the "Sacred Farming Society" had purchased a large
tract of land a few miles from Tientsin, and that serious opposi-
tion had developed among the Chinese farmers in the vicinity.
The land was unsuitable for agriculture, but despite this and the
opposition of the Chinese, the head of the Japanese group, one
Eizo Shima by name, declared that he possessed a secret method
for removing alkali from soil and that his object was to promote
Chinese- Japanese friendship by teaching the Chinese improved
methods of farming and gardening. Accompanied by my friend
Mr. Ward, of the American consulate, I visited the Japanese
farming project which the Chinese designated as "God's Farm-
ers." We found the place in confusion. A number of small houses
which the Japanese had constructed in the manner of squatters'

290 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

huts were smoking ruins. The Japanese claimed that Chinese
marauders crept up at night and poured gasoline on the thatched
roofs and set them on fire. All of the Japanese wore semi-military
uniforms and were of the ronin type. Ward and I looked at each
other and exclaimed involuntarily, "frame-up," as it had all the
earmarks of a planted incident and we could imagine headlines
in the Japanese papers charging the Chinese with interfering
with a Japanese enterprise.

The "sacred farm" affair occurred on June 12, less than a
month before the actual outbreak of hostilities, which did not
occur at Tientsin, after all. The exposure of the "sacred farm"
affair in the China Weekly Review and other papers may have
caused the army to change its plans.

Late in June the Japanese Government presented a secret ulti-
matum to the Peiping Political Council demanding that it join in
a "Central Economic Council" embracing the territories of Man-
chukuo, Korea, and North China. Peiping was asked to send
delegates to a conference at Dairen, Manchuria, which was
scheduled to create an "organic continental bloc," the first objec-
tive of which was to promote heavy or war industries. Other
subjects on the agenda included elimination of trade barriers,
coordination of production, standardization of products, coordi-
nation and linking-up of similar industries in the three continental
territories with those in Japan. It was the Japanese conception
of a "cartel" arrangement. News of the ultimatum was dis-
closed in the press of Tientsin on July 4. Fighting broke out
between the forces of Japan and China near Peiping three days
later, or on July 7.

The Japanese army followed its usual procedure and prepared
an "incident."

Since the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when Chinese fanatics
besieged the foreign diplomats at Peiping, the various foreign
Powers had maintained small "token" forces in the old Chinese
capital for the purpose of guarding the legations. The force at

SEQUEL OF SIAN 291

the American Legation usually consisted of some 250 Marines.
The British, French, Italians, and, occasionally, other powers,
maintained similar small forces, as also had the Germans, Aus-
trians and Russians prior to World War I. The Japanese, how-
ever, maintained a considerably larger force, usually a full regi-
ment.

It was the custom of the various foreign units to conduct
their exercise drills and maneuvers on the glacis surrounding the
wall about the Legation Quarter in Peiping. But not so the Japa-
nese; they insisted on holding their maneuvers in the countryside
several miles outside the city and at night.

On the evening of July 7, at about 10 o'clock, the Japanese
troops were staging a sham battle near the village of Lukouchiao
(Marco Polo Bridge), about twenty miles west of Peiping. The
scene of the maneuvers was near the intersection of the two
important railways which serve Peiping. Japanese officers claimed
their troops were fired on by soldiers of the Chinese 2pth Army,
which was under the command of General Sung Cheh-yuan.
The Japanese immediately made drastic demands; that Chinese
troops be withdrawn from strategic points about Peiping; that
the Japanese be permitted to search villages in the vicinity of the
Marco Polo Bridge; that the Chinese troops were inspired by
Communists, hence the Chinese authorities should cooperate with
the Japanese in eradicating them; that the Chinese military
authorities should apologize, and punish the culprits. The Japa-
nese claimed that one of their soldiers had been kidnaped in one
of the villages, but the man was later found in a "sing-song"
house.

The Chinese agreed to appoint members of a joint commis-
sion to investigate, but fighting broke out before the commission
got started. Japanese military planes flew over the district and
dropped leaflets ordering the Chinese troops to withdraw from
the area. Both sides brought in reinforcements, and the clashes
grew in intensity. The Chinese seized the airport where Japanese
planes from Tokyo landed, and the Japanese retaliated by seiz-

292 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ing the railway junctions. Martial law was enforced in Peiping,
and the city gates were closed. There were intermittent clashes
and truces, until the commanders agreed to withdraw their
troops to opposite sides of the small Yungting River. Suddenly
the Japanese barricaded the gates to their quarters in the Legation
Quarter and manned them with machine guns. By July 1 3 large
bodies of troops began to arrive from Manchuria, and fighting
about the city grew in intensity. The Tokyo papers demanded a
"show-down" in North China, claiming that North China was
"swept" by anti- Japanese propaganda inspired by the Com-
munists.

The war was on.

XXVII

Mounting Tension

i End of "Wait and Set? 9

IN THE SUMMER OF 1937, a ^ ter Ae Japanese had intervened in
North China but before they attacked Shanghai, I boarded a little
Chinese steamer, the Sanpeb, for a week-end trip down the China
coast to the Chusan Islands. I was accompanied on the trip by
James Howes, secretary of the American Chamber of Com-
merce, and his son. Much to our surprise the boat, which
belonged to a well known Chinese company, had a German
captain and flew the Nazi swastika flag after it cleared the harbor
limits. The captain told me that all the coastal steamers belong-
ing to this particular Chinese company had been taken over by
a German concern. I noticed, however, soon after the ship was
under way, that the German captain had practically nothing to
do with its operation, which was still controlled by the Chinese
officers and crew. The Nazi captain emerged from his cabin
and showed himself on deck, in his new uniform, only when
the boat was in port, or when it was passing a Japanese warship.
He received a handsome salary for this service, and the reason
was obvious: the Chinese expected the war to spread to the
Yangtze Valley, and had made a paper transfer of their ships
to a German company in the expectation that the Japanese
would not seize the ships if they were under the Nazi flag.

As the little Sanpeh slowly steamed down the Whangpoo to
the Woosung breakwater and the broad muddy mouth of the
Yangtze, we passed an unusually large number of Japanese
destroyers parked in groups of two, three, and four along the
river with a half dozen more anchored just outside the break-

2 93

294 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

water at Woosung. As the officers of the Japanese warship care-
fully inspected the Sanpeh through their glasses as we passed
alongside in the narrow river, it was impossible to escape a feel-
ing of apprehension; and I wondered whether the little Chinese
ship with its Nazi camouflage would be able to run the Japanese
gantlet on the return voyage up the Whangpoo.

We landed at Chusan, which is the largest of a group of islands
scattered about the rnouth of Hangchow Bay, a wide, shallow,
V-shaped estuary which cuts into the China coast about 1 50 miles
south of Shanghai. It is approximately thirty miles long and fifteen
miles wide, with a fairly good harbor. In the middle of the Eight-
eenth Century, when the Chinese rulers would have no dealings
with foreign barbarians, the East India Company was compelled
to establish bases for trading on islands off the China coast. One
of these bases was later destined to become the Crown Colony of
Hong Kong, famous center of international trade and politics.
The other, now practically unknown, even to the map-makers,
was the island of Chusan. For many years Chusan was a hive of
business and naval activity, resounding to the shouts and tread
of British sailors, soldiers, and traders. Its importance ceased
after the opening of Shanghai to British and world trade in the
middle of the last century, and at the time of my visit it was little
more than a sleepy fishing village.

I had a letter of introduction to the principal of the Chusan
Middle School, one of several educational institutions on the
'island which were supported by the American Baptist mission.
I was not surprised when Professor Fong told me that a squadron
of Japanese destroyers recently had called at Chusan and had
taken soundings in the harbor. This information provided the
first clue to future Japanese activities along the coast to the
south of Shanghai. I had cause to remember my visit to Chusan
after I was thrown into prison and the Japanese gendarmes had
rifled the files in my office.

Professor Fong took me to see the old cemetery where several
hundred British and French soldiers and sailors were buried.

MOUNTING TENSION 295

Some of the graves dated back to the days of the old British
East India Company, in the middle of the Eighteenth Century,
but most of the European occupants of these forgotten graves
lost their lives through disease or wounds suffered in the Anglo-
French wars with China in the middle of the last century.

The East India Company had selected Chusan Island as a
trading base for Central China on account of its location near
the port of Ningpo, chief city of Chekiang Province, which
was, at that time, the main source of Chinese tea. Since opium
bulked large among the products exchanged for tea, this was an
added reason for the selection of Chusan as a trading post, as the
location of the island facilitated smuggling.

Ningpo was once a household word in the United States.
Much of the tea carried on the fast-sailing clipper ships came
from that city and was sold in American stores as "Ningpo"
tea. It was one of the early centers in China for Protestant
missionary work. Many of the early American Consuls who
served at Ningpo were missionaries; one, named Cunningham,
died in Ningpo, and his body lies today in the old Ningpo
cemetery surrounded by the graves of his six wives. Many of his
reports to the State Department were appeals for an increase in
salary, as he found it difficult to live on the salary of $1,000 a
year which the department allowed him. Another early Ameri-
can Consul at Ningpo, Townsend Harris, negotiated our first
commercial treaty with Japan, following the opening of that
country, by Commodore Perry, to American and world trade.
The Harris treaty with Japan was signed in 1858, following
which Harris became a teacher of political economy to the
Japanese. In one of his early dispatches to the State Department,
Harris made an interesting observation. He said that the common
people of Japan were well disposed toward foreigners, but "the
officials are the greatest liars on earth."

The suspicion of the Chusan professor and myself concern-
ing further Japanese activities in that region was borne out by
later events, for shortly after my return to Shanghai I received
a letter from Professor Fong stating that a Japanese naval con-

296 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

tingent had taken over the island. He stated that he had barely
managed to escape with his wife and children to Ningpo aboard
a junk. Later he informed me that history was repeating itself
at Chusan, as the Japanese had converted the island into a base
for a vast smuggling trade extending along the China coast as
far south as Canton. As one might suspect, opium and Japanese
narcotics were again chief articles of the new trade. The Jap-
anese navy established a base at Chusan, and after the passage of
a century the island has again become a hive of military activity.

In the meantime, at Nanking, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-
shek was being attacked and ridiculed for his "wait and see"
policy. Some reactionaries were demanding that, as a means of
appeasing the enemy, Chiang resign and withdraw completely
from participation in national affairs. Faced with dissension at
home and attacks from abroad, the head of the National Govern-
ment could no longer delay action. The Generalissimo an-
nounced, in an interview with the Central Press on August
first: "I declare again that China does not seek war, but we will
accept war if it is forced on us. We have reached the limit of
our endurance."

Chinese troops in North China, evicted from Peiping and
Tientsin, had withdrawn to the "last line of defense" along the
Yellow River and the Lunghai Railway. The Japanese were
bombing this line daily, and their future intentions were indi-
cated by massing of troops and mechanized equipment in the
evacuated districts. At Tientsin the Japanese bombed and com-
pletely destroyed Nankai University, one of the leading Chinese
educational institutions of North China. The Japanese charged
that the university had been a center of anti-Japanese activities.
The real reason was that the Japanese had discovered that two
sons of the president of the school, Dr. Chang Po-ling, were
aviators in the Chinese Air Corps. On August 3 a flotilla of nine
Japanese warships entered the harbor at Swatow, near Canton,
and demanded the resignation of the local Chinese commander,

MOUNTING TENSION 297

on the ground that he had encouraged a strike of Chinese wharf
coolies who were loading a Japanese ship in the harbor. Chinese
military commanders in Central and South China met at Nan-
king to consider the threatening situation, and the National
Government decided to evacuate all Chinese residents from
Japan. On August 7 the Japanese ordered the evacuation of all
Japanese nationals from Hankow and other points in the Yangtze
Valley and South China.

Early in August the Shanghai Nippo, a Japanese mouthpiece,
charged that the Chinese had violated the neutrality agreement
of 1932 by bringing in 2,000 men to strengthen the local Peace
Preservation Corps. On August 9, General Sugiyama, Jap-
anese War Minister, declared that China "must be chastised for
her insincerity" and that Japan's non-aggression policy must be
abandoned.

That evening an officer and a sailor of the Japanese navy
were shot and killed as they were trying to enter the Chinese
airdrome at Hungjao on the outskirts of Shanghai, and a Chinese
guard at the airdrome was also killed. The Japanese Consul,
Okamoto, declared the incident was of a "grave nature" and
had been reported to Tokyo for appropriate action. A huge
exodus of Chinese residents of the Hongkew and Chapei dis-
tricts of northern Shanghai began, as a result of rumors that the
Japanese were contemplating military action in the next few
days. Thousands of Chinese from the country districts to the
north of Shanghai poured into the International Settlement and
the French Concession.

The situation at Shanghai became rapidly worse. Japanese
troops landed at Woosung, ten miles north of Shanghai, and
also in the northern or Hongkew section of Shanghai itself.
Heavy fighting of a hand-to-hand nature broke out in the
northern district of Shanghai when Chinese troops attacked the
invading Japanese. The Japanese battleship IdTwmo^ which was
regarded by the Chinese as a symbol of Japanese aggression, was
moved up the Whangpoo and anchored alongside the Japanese

298 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

consulate, directly in front of the International Settlement. Jap-
anese naval authorities at Shanghai announced that they would
be "compelled to adopt defense measures" because of numerous
Chinese acts of aggression, including the murder of the Japanese
naval officer and his chauffeur on the evening of August 9. They
also announced that they were prepared to take "any necessary
steps if the situation was further aggravated."

The Chinese mayor of the city, O. K. Yui, demanded that
America and Great Britain prevent Japan from using the north-
ern or Hongkew sections of the city as a base of operations
against China. Great Britain requested that Shanghai be excluded
from the zone of Japanese-Chinese hostilities, but Japan's answer
was that the request was "clearly unacceptable Britain has
asked us to do the impossible." Instead, the Japanese expelled
the International Settlement Police, including the British, from
the Hongkew section. Japanese bombers had already raided
Hangchow, Nanchang, Nanking, Soochow, Chinkiang, and the
Shanghai-Nanking Railway. The Chinese had curtailed railway
traffic and declared martial law in all cities and districts adjacent
to the railroads. At the same time, they ordered the lower
Yangtze closed to navigation.

2 Black Saturday

In recalling, as I just have, the mounting tension of those
early August days, I am surprised that we in Shanghai were so
unprepared for the tragic events of "Black Saturday," August

The regular issues of the China Weekly Review usually con-
tained from forty to sixty pages. I have before me a thin, sickly
number of August 21, 1937, f on ty" sixteen pages, greatly re-
duced in size, and resembling the miniature editions of American
magazines put out for United States soldiers abroad; but this
issue of the Review was so poorly printed that it is difficult to
read. Our regular printing plant happened to be in the line of
fire between the Chinese and Japanese forces, and the entire

MOUNTING TENSION 299

printing staff hurriedly evacuated the building and fled to places
of safety. It looked as though we, as well as several other papers
in the downtown section, might not be able to continue publica-
tion. A heavy shell from a Japanese battery had penetrated the
composing room of the North China Daily Neiw, leading British
paper, and caused heavy carnage. A day or two later one of our
Chinese printers turned up and told me he had a friend who
owned a little printing plant located in a basement somewhere
that was not likely to be hit by Japanese bombs. He insisted that
his friend could print a small edition on a little* hand press. The
result was a genuine "underground" edition of the China Weekly
Review.

In this miniature edition appeared a condensed account of
the bombing incidents which resulted in the killing of nearly
2,000 persons and the wounding of some 2,500 more, nearly all
being Chinese civilians men, women and children and all of
them refugees who were fleeing from terrorism created by the
Imperial Japanese Army in its invasion of the Shanghai area.
Most, but by no means all, of the bombs responsible for this
slaughter were dropped by crippled Chinese planes flying over
the International Settlement. It was estimated that a million and
a half Chinese, most of them farmers, villagers, and factory
workers, had fled into the International Settlement, and for many
days the streets, roads and bridges leading into the Anglo-
American administered area had been jammed with Chinese
carrying their worldly possessions, including innumerable chil-
dren, the great majority seeming to be babes in arms. Chinese
charitable organizations had established relief centers at various
points in the International Settlement. Bombs falling among the
crowds at these congested relief centers or in the vicinity were
responsible for the heavy casualties, said to be the greatest among
civilians anywhere up to that time.

The worst carnage occurred at a street intersection between
the International Settlement and the French Concession, about
a mile from the Bund, where some 5,000 refugees had assembled
to receive free rice dispensed by an amusement concern known

3OO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

as the "New World." The streets which crossed at this corner
were main thoroughfares known as Yu-ya-ching Road and
Avenue Edward VII. The traffic light in the center had just
turned from green to red when a small motor car with three
passengers, a man, woman and little girl, came to a stop, waiting
for the traffic light to change. Hearing planes flying low over-
head, just skimming the tops of the business buildings, the driver
of the car opened the door and stepped out in the street to
investigate. Just as his feet touched the ground he uttered a cry,
threw up his arms and dropped dead on the pavement. A ma-
chine-gun bullet had passed through his heart.

The victim, the first foreigner to be killed in the China-Japan
war, was the Reverend Dr. Frank Rawlinson, editor of the
Chinese Recorder, leading magazine of Protestant missions in
China. Dr. Rawlinson was born in England and received his
'education in the United States, where he became a naturalized
citizen. He was the outstanding pacifist in the missionary com-
munity in China. He was a strong and fearless opponent of
Japanese militarism, and was also opposed to the militarization
of China as a means of settling international differences in the
Far East. Mrs. Rawlinson and their daughter were stunned at his
collapse and, not realizing what had happened, they lifted him
into the car and drove to a hospital. The car had just turned the
corner when all hell broke loose in the wide crowded plaza at
the street intersection behind them.

A Chinese plane, carrying two heavy bombs, had attempted
to drop them on the Japanese battleship Idzitmo, anchored in
the Whangpoo harbor directly in front of the downtown section
of the city. Before the Chinese plane could get in position for
the delicate bombing operation, it was attacked by a Jap fighter.
Badly wounded, the Chinese pilot attempted to return to the
Hungjao Airdrome on the outskirts of the city, which was still
held by the Chinese forces. Realizing his inability to reach the
Chinese base with his damaged plane and heavy load, he at-
tempted to loose the bombs as he flew over the local race course.
But the heavy explosives fell short of their mark by about

TENSION ^ Of

three hundred yards, striking almost in the center of the plaza,
crowded with the normally busy noon-time traffic of Shanghai
streets, consisting of motor cars, rickshas, and pedestrians, plus
the thousands of Chinese refugees who had gathered there for
their free bowls of rice and tea.

The first bomb, exploding as it struck the asphalt street,
apparently had detonated the second a few feet above the street
level, causing its load of death-dealing explosives to spray across
the crowded plaza. Dozens of motor cars and their occupants
were riddled with shrapnel or incinerated by their exploding
gasoline tanks, while hundreds of pedestrians were dropped i$
their tracks for a block in all directions. The worst carnage was
among the crowd of refugees massed in front of the New World
Amusement Center, where the food was being dispensed. Man-
gled bodies of men, women and children, with most of their
clothing burned away, were heaped against the building to a
height of five feet.

I was standing on the roof of the American Club, about ten
blocks distant, watching the fights between Chinese and Jap-
anese planes when the bombs struck the plaza. The explosion
shook the entire city. I hurried to the scene, and for the first
time in my extensive coverage of battles, I actually saw human
blood running in the gutters. When I got home late that night
after covering the story, my shoes, socks, and trousers were caked
with blood. I assisted the police and Red Cross in removing
numerous charred bodies from motorcars which had been caught
as the drivers of the cars moved around the circular island where
the traffic signals were located. One car, a Ford, attracted my
particular attention, as it was standing within twenty feet of
the yawning crater in the asphalt where the bombs had fallen.
There were three charred bodies in the car, two in the front seat
and one in the rear. The driver, or rather his charred skeleton,
sat perfectly erect with the blackened bones of his hands still
grasping the wheel When the bodies were removed from the
car, the driver's license, upon which the owner of the car was

302 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

sitting and which had thus escaped incineration, established his
identity as a well known American businessman in Shanghai.
The other figures in the car were his wife and the Chinese
chauffeur.

After the police and Red Cross workers had finally removed
the last trackload of bodies from the scene, they sent back
another truck which they loaded with legs and feet which the
explosion had severed from the bodies of the victims and scat-
tered over the plaza in grotesque array. Among those killed at
this street intersection were ninety Chinese printers out of a staff
of one hundred employed by the Seventh Day Adventist mission
in the production of their church magazine. The office of the
magazine had previously been located in Chinese territory, but
it had been moved into the Settlement for safety on the day
preceding the bombing.

The other tragic happening of Black Saturday occurred
within a few minutes of the first bombing. These bombs, five in
number, were also aimed by Chinese aviators, flying Northrop
bombers, at the Japanese battleship Idzumo in the harbor, but
missed their mark by about five hundred yards and crashed into
the busiest block of Nanking Road, Shanghai's main street, and
directly in front of the city's two leading hotels, the Palace and
the Cathay. This street was also crowded with Chinese refugees,
several hundred being killed and wounded. Several foreigners
were killed and others wounded at this point.

The same afternoon, another bomb struck the roof of the
six-story office and warehouse of the United States Navy Pur-
chasing Bureau, also located in the downtown section of the city
and only about a block from the American consulate. This bomb,
a freak hit, crashed through the concrete roof and five concrete
floors and landed on the cement floor of the basement of the
building without exploding. It contained the mark of a munitions
house in Czechoslovakia. The nationality of the plane which
dropped this bomb was never established. Some days later, an-
other high explosive missile, either a bomb from a plane or a shell
from a naval gun, struck the fronts of, and seriously damaged,

MOUNTING TENSION 303

Shanghai's two largest Chinese department stores. Here the casu-
alties were numerous, both within the crowded stores and in
the streets.

Two nights following Black Saturday I was working late in
my office when the door opened and an American woman, Mrs.
Eleanor B. Roosevelt, wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., entered.
She explained that she was visiting in Shanghai and had been
horrified by the slaughter of innocent civilians caused by bombs
falling in the streets of the city. She wondered if something could
be done to induce both combatants to withdraw their troops and
naval craft from the borders of the International Settlement.
After some discussion Mrs. Roosevelt decided to send telegrams
to the leaders of the opposing sides, stating she had personally
witnessed "casualties and destruction terrible beyond realization
among innocent defenseless peoples," and appealing to them to
order a discontinuance of bombings in the Settlement. One tele-
gram was addressed to Madame Chiang Kai-shek, asking her to
bring the matter to the immediate attention of the Generalissimo.

We then considered the names of various Japanese leaders to
whom the other telegram could be sent. I urged that it be sent
directly to Emperor Hirohito, who was personally responsible
for the acts of his military commanders, but a local American
resident who had accompanied Mrs. Roosevelt to my office said
he had discussed the matter with a member of the American
Embassy and the fear had been expressed that addressing the tele-
gram directly to Hirohito might be considered "disrespectful."

It was finally decided to address the Japanese telegram to
Prince Konoye, the premier. The text of the telegram was as
follows:

PRINCE KONOYE, PREMIER OF JAPAN:

I have today telegraphed Madame Chiang Kai-shek that bombing
be withheld until arrangements can be made for protection of lives
of innocent people in the concessions. On account of the presence
within and along the boundaries of the International Settlement of
an extraordinary number of Japanese army and naval forces, the

304 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Chinese claim they must take necessary military measures and pre-
cautions. I urge your excellency to devise ways and means to neu-
tralize the situation and permit safeguards for non-combatants. I feel
I may cable you on account of the evidences of friendship shown
me in the past by their Imperial Majesties.

ELEANOR B. ROOSEVELT

(Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.)

This telegram had unexpected results, particularly in view
of the fact that the Japanese had ignored strong protests by both
the American and the British governments. The Japanese never
replied to Mrs. Roosevelt's telegram, but the following day the
Japanese naval commander ordered the warship Idzumo removed
from its anchorage in front of the city. The withdrawal of the
Idzumo removed the chief target of Chinese aviators from prox-
imity to the congested downtown section of the city. The Jap-
anes6 did, however, continue to fire projectiles from their heavy
naval guns over the city, and many residences in the outlying
districts were struck. A Japanese plane also dropped an incen-
diary bomb near one of the United States Fourth Marine bar-
racks, but no injury was done. Other Japanese air bombs were
dropped on an American cotton mill which was protected by a
contingent of United States Marines, but none was injured.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek in her reply said that the Generalis-
simo had ordered an investigation of the incidents and had
authorized a relief appropriation for the victims.

XXVIII
American Ships, Japanese Bombs, in 1937

AFTER JAPAN'S WAR IN CHINA had been in progress for several
months, two young Japanese officers, former schoolmates at the
Tokyo Military Academy, met in Nanking, capital of Nation-
alist China. Nanking had just fallen to the Japanese. The time of
the meeting was a few days before Christmas. The young officers
were Sub-lieutenants Tashiakai Mukai and Iwao Noda. The
meeting of the two officers in the Chinese capital was a matter
of considerable popular interest in Japan as their exploits had
been heralded, together with their pictures, in the daily editions
of the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shiwbun, leading newspaper in the
Japanese capital.

The following is a brief translation of the account of the
meeting of the two Japanese officers in the Chinese capital,
which a translator in my office handed me one morning: "After
formal bows the two Japanese officers drew their swords and
pointed with pride to the badly nicked edges of the long bkdes.
Said Lieutenant Noda, 1 have killed 105 how many have you
killed?' Lieutenant Mukai replied, 'Aha-ha, I have killed 106
so sorry!'"

Mukai had won by one on a matter of points, but, the Nichi
Nichfs correspondent explained, it was impossible to settle the
bet between the two officers because there was no way of
determining which of the two had passed the 100 mark first; it
was therefore decided to call it a tie and extend the competition
to determine which officer could first pass the 150 mark, that is,
kill 150 Chinese.

The report in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi stated that the race
"started with renewed vigor December n for the goal of 150."

305

306 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

It appeared that the two officers had first met in a night club in
Shanghai, when the original bet had been made to determine
which of the two could first kill 100 Chinese. It was not specified
that the victims had to be Chinese soldiers; as a matter of fact
the Chinese army had withdrawn from most of the towns be-
tween Shanghai and Nanking, a distance of some 200 miles,
through which the Japanese army advanced on its way to Nan-
king. It was assumed therefore that most of the victims of the
competition in mass murder by the two Japanese officers had
been Chinese civilians.

Some time after the occupation of Nanking on December
13, 1937, the Japanese army spokesman at Shanghai announced
that the army had decided to establish a factory in Shanghai for
the repair and reconditioning of swords.

The report of the competition of the two Japanese army
officers shed considerable light on the orgy of looting, murder,
and rape which took place following the entrance of Japanese
troops into the Chinese capital. There had been some looting
by the defeated and retreating Chinese troops, and Nanking had
experienced serious rioting and disorder, with atrocities against
Chinese civilians and foreigners, at the hands of the Communists
in 1927, but the residents of the Chinese capital had never
experienced such an ordeal as marked the occupation of the city
by the Japanese army. Japanese occupation of the native sections
of Shanghai and other cities of the lower Yangtze region had
been accompanied by murder, looting and the rape of civilians,
and the Chinese generally were familiar with the stories of
Japanese atrocities in Manchuria, where entire populations of
villages had been wiped out and all of the houses looted and
burned by the Japanese because the villagers were accused of
harboring guerrillas.

The rape of Nanking was almost like that of Carthage in the
barbarity shown to its inhabitants. The accounts of foreign mis-
sionaries, many of whom had witnessed the atrocities, and even
obtained pictures of them, indicated that there was a collapse
of all discipline among a considerable section of the Japanese

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 307

forces. It seemed as though all of the pent-up hatred for for-
eigners with which the Japanese army had been indoctrinated
by years of teaching and training in brutality burst forth in an
orgy of terrorism following the occupation of the city. An
authenticated report by an international group of foreign mis-
sionaries stated that large numbers of Chinese civilians were
wantonly shot or bayonetted and left to die in the streets. People
who attempted to flee the city were rounded up, robbed and
machine-gunned indiscriminately. So-called safety zones which
were created and supervised by missionaries were invaded by
Japanese soldiers during the reign of terror, which continued
for several days. Large numbers of men were bound together
and shot in bunches, or their clothing was saturated with kero-
sene and they were burned to death as human torches.

The Japanese charged that the Chinese victims were soldiers
who had discarded their uniforms for civilian attire and were
trying to escape from the city. Japanese soldiers singled out 400
males of various ages from one refugee safety zone, which was
supervised by Christian missionaries, and marched them outside
the city wall in groups of fifty, to be mowed down by machine
guns. Other Chinese were tied to posts and used as dummies for
bayonet practice. Japanese soldiers invaded the premises of mis-
sion schools and seized Chinese women and girls, who were
dragged away. Not a single prisoner was taken by the Japanese
army. Japan's propaganda that her sole purpose was to "liberate"
the Chinese people was made to mean in actual practice their
"liquidation." John Allison, an American consular official who
accompanied a missionary to the Japanese army headquarters for
the purpose of urging the Japanese commander to control his
rioting troops, was slapped and insulted by the Japanese sentry
at the gates of the compound. Most of the private homes in the
city were plundered, and refugees passing through the city gates
were robbed of their meager possessions.

I inspected numerous photographs snapped in mission hos-
pitals showing Chinese with deep gashes in their heads, necks,
shoulders, and arms caused by Japanese soldiers, who were put-

308 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ting into practice an ancient and popular Japanese military exer-
cise in which soldiers, wearing heavy leather headgear, wire
masks and shoulder guards, beat each other over the heads with
heavy clubs until they drop from exhaustion. I had frequently
watched these exercises at Japanese barracks in Manchuria and
in Japan, and marveled at the ability of the soldiers to stand such
brutality. I did not realize that the exercise would ultimately be
put to practical use with real swords against unarmed civilians.
I saw one picture, taken by a missionary doctor, of a Chinese
man who had a deep crease across the back of his neck where a
Japanese officer had struck him with his sword. Luckily the
sword was dull; almost miraculously the spinal cord had not been
severed, and the man lived.

I also saw numerous pictures snapped by the Japanese them-
selves, showing Chinese being beheaded by Japanese soldiers,
and I possessed one revolting picture of a Chinese woman who
had been raped by two Japanese soldiers who were shown in the
picture standing by the body of their victim. The Japanese have
a weakness for photographing each other, and could not resist
photographing even their own barbarous acts. I obtained the
prints from a Korean photograph shop in Shanghai, where the
films had been sent to be developed. The soldiers apparently
wanted the prints to send to their friends at home in Japan.
Japanese soldiers seemingly had no feeling whatsoever that their
inhuman actions transgressed the tenets of modern warfare or
common everyday morals.

There have been two occasions since Japan abrogated the
Four-Power Naval Limitations Treaty when it is possible that
Japan might have been brought to terms without resort to arms
on the part of the United States and the other Powers which
were parties to the Washington Arms Limitation treaties. The
first was in September, 1931, when the so-called Kwantung
(Manchurian) faction in the Imperial Japanese Army staged the
coup d'etat or Mukden Incident, and invaded China's Man-
churian provinces. On that occasion governmental leaders at

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 309

Tokyo were so fearful that the United States would take action
to enforce the treaties which guaranteed China's territorial integ-
rity, that they went to great lengths to disarm suspicion and
criticism by the American people. Large sums of money were
expended in propaganda and in other ways to influence public
opinion and prevent Washington from taking a strong stand.
Their eff orts were so successful that we even continued our ship-
ments of war materials to Japan.

One of the most effective propagandists for Japan was an
American, a former teacher and newspaperman of Honolulu
named Henry W. Kinney, who was employed by the South
Manchuria Railway at Dairen, Manchuria. Kinney made a trip
to the United States, following the Manchurian Incident, and
interviewed editors, columnists and radio commentators. Follow-
ing his return he made a long written report to his Japanese
superiors in which he listed those who had expressed sentiment
favorable to Japan's policy of aggression. Unfortunately for
Kinney his confidential report fell into the hands of an American,
who turned it over to me. I published it it still makes interesting
reading, particularly the list of pro-Japanese publicists, though
more than a dozen years have elapsed. After the Japanese dis-
covered the leak they gave Kinney an extended vacation, which
he was still spending with his Japanese wife on the French island
of Tahiti in the South Pacific when the war broke out.

Many influential citizens urged our Government not to take
a strong stand, in the mistaken belief that pacifically inclined
civilian elements in the Japanese Government might be able to
get the upper hand over the military. Even Ambassador Joseph
G Grew at Tokyo recommended a moderate policy, in the belief
that a strong stand by Washington might provoke the Japanese
militarists to an "even more intransigent attitude,"

The second time when a strong stand oa the part of the
United States Government might have forced a change in Jap-
anese policy was when the Japanese deliberately bombed, ma-
chine-gunned and sank the United States gunboat Pamy in the

3IO MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Yangtze River above Nanking in December, 1937. Instead, the
weak, vacillating policy of our State Department encouraged
the Japanese to play fast and loose with Americans and their
interests in the Far East, and ultimately encouraged the Japanese
militarists to plot the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor four years
later.

Americans in Shanghai and Nanking had a private joke which
they repeated to each other, usually in low tones if a non-
American was within hearing. The joke was brief but very much
to the point: "Did you know that Ambassador Nelson T. John-
son now lists the expenses of the American Embassy at Nanking
as 'running expenses'?" The wisecrack had a special meaning
for Americans because it exemplified the unusual activities of the
American Embassy staff at Nanking for several weeks prior to
the Japanese occupation of the Chinese capital. Documentary
dispatches exchanged between Ambassador Johnson at Nanking
and the State Department covering this period have not been
published, but most persons were aware of the fact that the
American Ambassador was worried as much by his instructions
from the State Department as he was by the aggressive attitude
of the Japanese. As soon as the Japanese began to direct their
attention toward the Chinese capital at Nanking, following their
occupation of Shanghai, Ambassador Johnson employed a Chi-
nese contractor to dig a bomb-proof shelter in the small rectan-
gular garden which faced the Embassy offices and quarters of
the staff . The shelter aroused considerable interest in diplomatic
circles because of its elaborate interior fittings and the fact that
it was the first to be built in Nanking. Descriptions and pictures
of it were forwarded to the Secretary of State, but those in
Washington who were responsible for the protection of Ameri-
can interests and prestige in the Far East were not satisfied. They
feared the shelter would furnish insufficient protection, and they
wanted nothing to happen that could possibly involve the United
States with Japan. Ambassador Johnson was therefore instructed
to take extraordinary precautions against being hit by Japanese
missiles.

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 31!

As a result he instructed the commander of the United States
Yangtze Patrol to station a couple of small river patrol boats,
including the Fcmay, at the Nanking jetty, a short distance from
the Embassy premises. Whenever word was flashed from Shang-
hai that Japanese bombers were on their way to blast Nanking,
the entire Embassy staff, consisting of secretaries, Consuls, Vice-
Consuls, and stenographers, led by the Ambassador, would sprint
to the jetty, board the gunboats, and steam, under forced draught,
upstream. After they had proceeded a few miles, the boats would
anchor in mid-stream and wait until they received word that
all was clear, then they would return to their quarters at the
Embassy. In order that there could be no mistake about the
overpowering desire of great and powerful America to avoid all
suspicion of courting danger, the American Embassy supplied
both the Japanese army and navy with detailed maps showing
the exact location of the Embassy, the river gunboats, and the
exact point on the Yangtze where the boats bearing the Ambas-
sador and his staff were to be anchored on each trip. Also, large
American flags were painted on the top decks and awnings of
the boats, which were clearly visible from the air.

The near panic at the American Embassy soon spread to the
other foreign embassies, even to the Germans, who arranged to
travel up the river on British ships. Finally word came that the
Japanese were planning a mass bombing attack on the Chinese
capital, using bombers based in Formosa and which they had
purchased in the United States. As soon as I heard the report
I arranged with another correspondent, Victor Keen of the New
York Herald Tribune, and Joseph Pearson, president of Press
Wireless, to make the trip to Nanking to see the show. At mid-
night we slipped around the Japanese lines in my Ford car, and
by driving all night over terrible roads we managed to reach
Nanking before noon of the day the Japanese had selected for
the bombing.

Nanking was a dead city so far as the streets and shops were
concerned, as the civilian population had either fled or gone into

312 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

hiding. We immediately drove to the American Embassy, which
we also found completely deserted except for one secretary,
J. Hall Paxton, who was born in China of missionary parents
and had joined the consular service several years before, after
his graduation from college in the United States. Paxton told us
that other members of the staff had hurriedly departed at day-
light on the daily trip up the Yangtze in order to avoid injury
by Japanese bombs. Paxton added: "But damned if I'm going to
run away from the little . . ." Ambassador Johnson, however,
was not there that day, as he and most of the staff had departed ^
for Hankow, about six hundred miles west of Nanking, where
the National Government was planning to transfer its head-
quarters. I had lunch with Paxton, which was prepared by his
Chinese cook and house boy who also had remained on the job.
After luncheon I drove to the building of the Chinese Officers'
Moral Welfare Association, a sort of Chinese army Y.M.C.A.,
where I interviewed Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-
shek. I asked the Generalissimo what he thought of the action
of the American Ambassador in running away every time there
was a rumor of a Japanese bombing. He smiled, shrugged his
shoulders, and replied, "You see, we are still here."

We remained in Nanking all afternoon awaiting the Japanese
bombing attack, but it didn't happen that day, and since impor-
tant developments were expected at Shanghai, we decided to
return to that city immediately, leaving shortly after dark by a
roundabout road in order to avoid the Japanese troops who were
then consolidating their position in preparation for the advance
on Nanking. Fortunately for us they had not yet entirely en-
circled Shanghai.

Shortly after daylight we ran into the worst mudhole I have
ever seen. A section of the highway for about a mile had been
converted into a loblolly three to four feet deep. Heavy military
trucks had cut the road into a series of deep parallel ruts resem-
bling trenches. Numerous cars and trucks preceding us had
driven into the morass in the hope of getting through, but had
mired down helplessly in the soft earth. Fortunately, before

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 313

leaving Nanking I had purchased several feet of rope in a Chinese
store, thinking that I might find some use for it. It was lucky I
had brought along the rope, and it was also lucky that I had a
bright new Chinese ten-dollar bill in my pocket. Noticing a num-
ber of Chinese farmers, men, women, and children, in a field
watching the show, I waved the ten-dollar bill and asked them
to pull us out of the mud. They responded immediately and
with enthusiasm, and some twenty men, women, and children,
accompanied by much "heigh-hoing" and singing, pulled us out
of the mudhole to dry ground in short order. But while we
were in the midst of it someone yelled, "Jap planes coming," and
they were a whole squadron of heavy Japanese bombers. We
dropped everything and dived into the nearest ditches. Since
more than a dozen large Chinese army trucks and as many more
cars were stuck in the mud, we provided an excellent target.
But the Jap bomber pilots paid no attention to us they were
on a more important mission, the bombing of Nanking.

We had missed the bombing of Nanking, and wondered if
the remaining members of the Embassy staff had managed to
escape. After the Japanese bombers had passed and our Ford
had been dragged to dry ground, there was a tremendous outcry
among the Chinese track drivers and occupants of other motor-
cars who charged us with demoralizing coolie labor by pay-
ing them $10 whereas $i would have been sufficient, in their
opinion. Since the foreigners had paid the farmers $10, they
obviously would not work for the Chinese for a lower price,
as such action would cause a 'loss of face." I was told that $10
remained the standard price for pulling victims out of that
particular mudhole.

On the afternoon of December 12, the U.S.S. Panay was
bombed, machine-gunned and sunk by Japanese planes, together
with a small tanker, the Mei-an, and two launches belonging to
the Socony Vacuum Company. The bombing occurred while
the boats were anchored in the stream about twenty-five miles
above Nanking, adjacent to the village of Hohsien, where they

314 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

had proceeded in accordance with State Department instruc-
tions. The bombing of the ships and subsequent machine-gun-
ning of launches carrying survivors ashore resulted in the killing
and wounding of several aaval officers, servicemen, and civilians,
including the captains of the two larger ships.

A few hours before the bombing of the American ships at
Hohsien other Japaneses forces attacked two British river gun-
boats, the Ladybird and the Bee, and five British river steamers,
the Suiwo, Tsing-teh, Tuck<wo, Wangtu and Tatung. All of the
British ships were clearly marked with large painted replicas of
the Union Jack. Several British naval ratings and civilians were
killed and wounded, as the British boats not only were bombed
from the air, but also were shelled by Japanese shore batteries.
The British ships at the time were anchored in the Yangtze off
the town of Wuhu, about fifty miles above Nanking. Wuhu was
the headquarters of Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto, commander
of the Japanese troops in this region. Hashimoto's first anti-
American gesture upon arriving at Wuhu had been to remove
the American flag from the gateway of the American mission
compound, tear it into shreds and trample it on the ground with
his hob-nailed boots.

Among the casualties on the American ships was a widely
known Italian, Sandro Sandri, special correspondent of the well
known Italian newspaper, La Stampa, published at Turin. Pre-
viously Mr. Sandri had been correspondent for Mussolini's per-
sonal paper, the Popolo tf Italia of Milan. Sandri had taken the
lead in the organization of the branch of the Italian Fascist Party
at Shanghai. He was aboard the Panay, was struck by both
shrapnel and machine-gun bullets, and died the following day.
Near casualties on one of the British ships, the Wangtu, were
several members of the German Embassy at Nanking. None was
hit by Japanese shells, but the boat was so badly damaged that
it was necessary to transfer the German diplomats to a British
gunboat. As a result of these incidents the Italian and German
governments both lodged protests with the Japanese Govern-
ment at Tokyo, despite the fact that both countries were in

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 315

alliance with the Japanese and were members of the Anti-Comin-
tern Pact.

There was a curious reaction in Washington when Hiroshi
Saito, the Japanese Ambassador, appeared at the State Depart-
ment early on the morning of December 13, only a few hours
after the incident, tendered the apologies of the Japanese Govern-
ment, and offered to make restitution. Except for a brief radio
flash, the State Department had as yet received no details of the
incident. Ambassador Saito admitted that "since the Japanese
had been informed of the position of the American ships, the
bombing of the Panay was a grave blunder ... of course it was
completely accidental and a great mistake." He was very
sorry!

Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, commander-in-chief of the United
States Asiatic Fleet, who was in Shanghai, acted immediately,
in confident expectation that the Government would take a
strong stand on the sinking of the Pmay, and canceled the sail-
ing orders of the United States cruiser Augusta, which was
anchored in Shanghai harbor. The ship had previously been
ordered to proceed to Manila. Admiral Yarnell also repudiated
a statement, allegedly made by the Japanese naval spokesman,
that all American naval craft would be withdrawn from the
Yangtze River. He declared, "United States naval vessels are in
Chinese waters for the protection of American citizens, and will
remain here as long as the necessity exists." Admiral Yarnell
said further that if the Japanese demanded the withdrawal of
American ships from China waters, the demand would be ignored.

But Admiral Yarnell's stand was not supported by Washing-
ton. The Senate launched upon an involved debate concerning
the withdrawal or non-withdrawal of all American gunboats
and forces from the Orient, and there were charges that Great
Britain was trying to get the United States "to pull her chestnuts
out of the fire in China." One Senator declared, "If Japan has
accepted the responsibility and apologized, there is nothing more
the United States can do about it." Senator Key Pittman made

316 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the only logical suggestion, that the United States Government
should demand that all Japanese army and navy officers con-
cerned in the bombing and machine-gunning of the Panay and
other American ships should be punished. He pointed out that
the series of "accidents" to neutrals was becoming intolerable,
and that there was little satisfaction in having the Japanese
Government express regret on each occasion. Senator Pittman
pointed out that it was the practice of the Japanese Government
to grant broad discretionary powers to its army and navy com-
manders in the field, "hence the United States Government
should obtain the names of the high Japanese officers who were
responsible for the outrages and demand that they be punished."
He declared that only such punishment would demonstrate the
good faith of the Japanese, and would halt the series of violations
of international law. He pointed out that the Japanese Govern-
ment had subjected itself to the suspicion that such incidents
were deliberate and were designed to frighten neutrals into with-
drawing all representatives and nationals from China.

But the Administration took no such determined stand. It
only demanded an apology and compensation and a guarantee
against repetition, which the Japanese Government, through
Ambassador Saito, had already offered to carry out voluntarily.
There was no demand for punishment even of the chief culprit,
Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto, the army commander at Wuhu,
who was allegedly responsible for the outrage. The issue was
further confused by President Roosevelt's personal insistence
that the American note be presented directly to Emperor Hiro-
hito. This, Koki Hirota, the Japanese Foreign Minister, refused
to do, and there was considerable puzzlement in the Far East as
to who had thought of this strange diplomatic gesture. In Tokyo,
Ambassador Joseph C. Grew was described as being deeply
touched by the sight of Japanese school children soliciting pen-
nies on the streets adjacent to the United States Embassy, with
which to purchase a nice new gunboat to replace the Panay ,
when as a matter of plain fact the Japanese Government quibbled
a long time over the matter of paying for the sunken Panay and

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 317

finally, when the Japanese could no longer sidestep the issue,
they offered to construct a ship in a Japanese dockyard and
present it to the United States. This offer, of course, was refused
by the Navy Department.

The responsibility of Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto, com-
mander of the Japanese troops stationed at Wuhu in Anhwei
Province, for the bombing of the U.S.S. Pemay and other Ameri-
can ships, as well as the shelling of the British ships, was disclosed
in the course of a controversy between the Japanese army and
navy spokesmen over the incident. The Japanese military attache
in China, General Kumakichi Harada, in the course of a press
conference at Shanghai, went to great lengths to disavow any
connection on the part of the Imperial Japanese Army with
either the air bombing of the American ships or the machine-
gunning and shelling of both American and British ships by
Japanese troops on the banks of the Yangtze. As a result of
General Harada's attempt, by implication, to place sole respon-
sibility on the Japanese navy, the Japanese naval spokesman
made some sensational disclosures regarding Colonel Hashimoto
and his army connections.

It appeared that the Colonel, who had previously served as
Japanese military attache in France and Turkey, had been in-
volved as one of the leaders in the February 26, 1936, army
rebellion in Tokyo. On that occasion Hashimoto denied that
he was either fascist or socialist, but claimed that he represented
the "new spirit in the Far East/ 7 the chief objective of which
was to eliminate all American and British influence from Asia.
He denied that he had any connection with the bombing of the
Panay, but it was disclosed that he had issued orders to the
Japanese troops to fire on all ships on the Yangtze "regardless
of nationality," despite the fact that he had been advised of the
locations of the American and British boats. The actual shelling
of the British boats and the machine-gunning of the sinking
Panajj as well as the launches carrying survivors ashore from
the Panay, apparently was ordered by one of Colonel Hashi-

318 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

moto's subordinates, allegedly in the belief that they were con-
voying ships loaded with Chinese troops.

The Japanese army authorities at first charged that the Panay
had fired on Japanese troops along the banks of the Yangtze,
but when this was disproved and the Japanese authorities were
presented with indisputable evidence that the Panay and other
American ships had been both bombed and machine-gunned by
Japanese planes, the Japanese naval authorities admitted their
responsibility. Some days later they announced that Rear Ad-
miral Teizo Mitsunami, chief of aerial operations, had been
recalled from China and would be relieved of his post. The Navy
Department also stated that it would "punish" all naval fliers
implicated in the bombing -of the Panay. The Japanese army
authorities finally apologized to the British for firing on the
British ships, claiming that they had mistaken them for a convoy
transferring Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops from Nan-
king to Hankow, following the Chinese withdrawal from Nan-
king and transference of the seat of government to Hankow.

Survivors from the ill-fated Panay did not arrive in Shanghai
until December 17, five days after the sinking of the ship. They
were brought down the river aboard the British gunboat Lady-
bird and the U.S.S. Oahu, a sister ship of the Panay, which had
been anchored at Nanking and had not been damaged. The seri-
ously wounded were immediately transferred to local hospitals,
while the less seriously wounded were carried on stretchers
aboard the Augusta^ flagship of the United States Asiatic fleet,
where they received treatment by naval physicians.

The bombing and shelling of the American and British ships
and the arrival of the survivors, including wounded, and the
flag-draped coffins of those who were killed, created a deep
impression on Shanghai's international community. The serious-
ness of the outrage and its international significance were attested
by the large number of correspondents, representing practically
every important newspaper and press association in the world,
who were present in Shanghai to report the story. Among the

AMERICAN SHIPS, JAPANESE BOMBS, IN 1937 319

few newspapermen who were aboard the Panay at the time of
the bombing and thus obtained a first-hand eye-witness account,
was Jim Marshall of Colliers, but Jim was in no condition to
report the story, as he was seriously wounded in the shoulder and
throat by Japanese shrapnel.

The most complete and connected account of the attack,
showing unmistakably that it was deliberate, was given by a
young Annapolis graduate, Lieutenant John Willard Geist, who
was aboard the Panay at the time of the incident and accom-
panied the survivors on the long trek along the river bank at
night until they were picked up several hours later by the sur-
viving American and British boats. Lieutenant Geist said the
fanay was bombed by two flights of Japanese planes, the
first consisting of three planes and the second of six planes. He
said the first Jap bombs were dropped with remarkable accuracy
from an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet. Practically all of
the bombs either hit their mark or fell so near as to cause serious
damage to the ships. The second Japanese flight flew lower and
machine-gunned the sinking ships as well as the lifeboats bearing
the survivors ashore.

XXIX

Working for "The Trib"

DECEMBER 17, 1937, THE DAY ON WHICH the Panay survivors
landed at Shanghai, was a memorable one for another reason in
the Shanghai office of the Chicago Tribune, where the brass sign
bearing the slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper," had hung
so long that the metal was nearly worn through by the polishing
given it by the office coolie.

Aside from editing my own paper in Shanghai, I had served
on occasion as correspondent for leading American and British
papers and press associations throughout most of my residence
in the Far East. Among the papers I represented for considerable
periods were the Manchester Guardian, leading liberal paper in
Great Britain; the Daily Herald, London, organ of the British
Labor Party; and the Chicago Tribune, owned by Colonel Rob-
ert R. McCormick, outstanding exponent of isolationism in the
United States. I also cooperated on various occasions with the
correspondents of the New York Herald Tribune and the Asso-
ciated Press in covering important events when it was impossible
for one correspondent to be in two places at the same time.

For several years I represented the Chicago Tribune and the
Manchester Guardian simultaneously, which prompted one news-
paper friend to inquire how it was possible for me to cover
developments in such a controversial field as China for two news-
papers which in their policies were as far apart as the two poles.
My reply was that I never gave much thought to the matter of
policy of a paper when I was covering a story, but always tried
to the best of my ability to get the underlying facts and leave
the interpretation to the editorial staff. I do not remember ever

320

WORKING FOR THE TRIE" 32!

having any of my dispatches altered because they did not con-
form to the policy of the paper. However, the editors, on occa-
sion, took issue with me in the editorial columns.

My connection with the Chicago Tribune dated from my
first trip to old Peking in 1917, when the Japanese presented
their second ultimatum to the Chinese Government concerning
the so-called Twenty-one Demands. At that time I received a
cable from Edward S. Beck, managing editor of the Chicago
Tribune, asking me to cover the story. I had been in China only
a few months, and had never written a newspaper cable in my
life, but Mr. Beck apparently liked my story, as he displayed it
on the first page under a banner head. Several weeks later I
received a check for $25, and thus began a connection with the
Chicago Tribune which lasted, with a few intermissions, for
nearly twenty years.

On a part-time basis at first, I later became the Tribune's
regular foreign correspondent in China. During the long era of
China's civil wars, the brief war between China and Russia in
1929, Japan's intervention in Manchuria in 1931, my trips
through Russia, and the early months of war between China and
Japan in 1937, I filed regular dispatches and sent mail stories
to Chicago. Since the difference in time between Shanghai and
Chicago is about twelve hours, it was necessary for me to do
most of my work at night, and in consequence I became the chief
night-owl among the foreign correspondents, frequently not
getting to bed before three or four o'clock in the morning for
long periods. For several years I was the oldest man, in point
of service, on the Tribune's foreign staff, and had I remained on
the staff a few months longer I would have been eligible for
retirement on pension.

I was the only man on the foreign staff of the Tribune who
had never worked in the home office in Chicago, hence was
spared contact with office politics except by hearsay. Occasion-
ally a correspondent would pass through Shanghai with the
latest gossip and advice on "how to get on with the Colonel"
Floyd Gibbons, ace Tribune man in World War I (where he

322 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

lost an eye), was in the Far East on several occasions and used
to advise me by the hour, usually in some hotel bar. Once in
Mukden, after several drinks, Floyd got down to fundamentals
and told me how to be a success with the Tribme. "You must
always 'write down' don't be 'intellectual/ the people who
buy the Tribune in Chicago don't understand or give a damn
about Far Eastern politics they want hot stories about battles
and bandits." I soon learned, however, that my not having
worked on the local staff in Chicago resulted in a serious handi-
cap, as my salary was always lower than that of other corre-
spondents who had previously worked on the local staff.

On the morning of December 17, 1937, Captain Corpening,
personal representative of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, ar-
rived in Shanghai from Chicago by Pan-American Clipper with
instructions to close up all Tribune offices in China. I had been
apprised by cable of Captain Corpening's impending arrival and
the purpose of his trip, but I was completely in the dark as to the
reason for the sudden decision. Corpening was sitting on the
edge of his bed eating his breakfast when I burst forth:

"Why in heaven's name is the Tribune closing its offices in
China at this time? Here is the Panay case, China arid Japan are
already at war, and real world news is beginning to break in
Asia."

Looking up, he said between bites, "The Colonel thinks China
is no longer important as a source of news he says China will
soon be taken over by the Japs hence the Tribune will cover
China news from Tokyo in future."

My knees suddenly became so weak I slumped into a
chair. All I could do was repeat, "But this is no time to wind
up."

While we were talking, a cable arrived, addressed to Cor-
pening. It was from the Colonel, instructing him to "Cover the
Panay." The Tribune had just received the advance cables from
AR telling of the expected arrival in Shanghai of the Panay
survivors.

WORKING FOR THE C< TRIB" 323

Passing the cable to me, Captain Corpening said, "You come
along."

"But I have been fired," I exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry about that I'll see you are taken care of,"
he replied. The captain then became communicative and told me
he was the only man in the whole Tribune organization
who could enter the Colonel's quarters at any hour, day or
night.

Later, after we had gone to the Shanghai Country Hospital
to interview the Panay survivors, I discovered why Captain Cor-
pening wanted me to accompany him. We first approached
Frank H. Vines, an official of the British-American Tobacco
Company from Roanoke, Va., who had been aboard the oil
tanker Mei-an when it was bombed and whose arm had been
paralyzed by the concussion of the Jap bomb which had sent
the tanker, along with the Panay , to an ignominious grave in the
mud of the Yangtze. I naturally stood back in order to permit
Corpening to conduct the interview, but Corpening motioned
me to go ahead. As we were leaving the hospital, he explained:

"You know, I never interviewed anybody in my life."

Corpening told me that he had never had any newspaper
experience other than serving as Colonel McCormick's personal
assistant and secretary.

That night I went back to the office. The habit of staying up
until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning for practically twenty years
was too strong to be broken off at once. About midnight Cor-
pening came in, sat down at one of the office typewriters and
after several minutes pecked out a few words on a cable blank
which he handed me. He had written exactly three lines. I've
forgotten the wording, but I glanced at it and exclaimed, "For
goodness' sake, the Panay story is worth more than that."

He took the cable, tore it up and said, "You go ahead and
write it, I'll take care of you."

I wrote the Pmay story and filed it. It made Page i under
Corpening's name, of course. Captain Corpening remained in
Shanghai for a couple of days while we closed up the Tribune

324 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

office and took down the old brass sign. It's surprising how
quickly the outward evidence of twenty years of work can be
eliminated. Colonel McCormick paid me three months' salary in
advance.

The last I heard of Captain Corpening was a couple of weeks
later when he turned up in Hankow, then the temporary seat
of the National Government, where he tried to hire a special train
from the Chinese authorities in order to "visit the fighting front."
The Chinese demurred they had never rented a train. Corpen-
ing assured the Chinese that the Chicago Tribune "could afford
to buy the entire train outright if necessary." The Chinese finally
made him understand that both of the railways out of Hankow
had been cut and he couldn't get withiri five hundred miles of
any front even if he had a half dozen trains. Corpening finally
left China in disgust.

From 1937 on, for four years up to the day and hour of the
sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the Chicago Tribune covered the
Far East with one correspondent Kimpei Sheba, a Japanese,
stationed in Tokyo. Sheba was born in Honolulu, hence was
technically an American citizen.

XXX
The Pressure Increases

DESPITE THE COMPARATIVE SAFETY of the International Settle-
ment and the French Concession, where most British and Amer-
icans resided, Japanese pressure began seriously to be felt in
1938. The Japanese were in control of the entire territory about
the city, and in addition had a large army within the northern
or Hongkew section of the city. This meant that the Settlement
authorities were no longer able to collect taxes or other revenues
in this district, which previously had been their chief source of
revenue, owing to the location there of most of the city's manu-
facturing enterprises.

Another cause of serious worry to the American and British
administrators of the Settlement was the fact that the municipal
power plant and water works were located within the Japanese
area, hence the Japanese had the power to strangle the Settlement
at any time by cutting off these facilities. And a constant source
of trouble and annoyance was the Japanese military patrol,
placed on the main bridge connecting the two sections of the
city. All cars, trucks, and pedestrians were stopped and searched,
and their Chinese chauffeurs had to dismount from the cars and
bow almost double to the Japanese guards. Any chauffeur who
refused was beaten and detained. Heavy toll was exacted on
every load of material sent into or transported from the Japanese
area. Most of this graft went to Japanese army and naval officers.

Shanghai University, one of the largest educational institu-
tions in the Yangtze Valley, which was operated under the aus-
pices of the American Baptist Mission, was closed and looted by
the Japanese. Another Chinese educational institution, Kwanghua
University, was completely destroyed, as also was Shanghai

325

326 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Labor University, established following the 1927 revolution.
Another Chinese school, Fuhtan University, established by a
well known educator, Dr. John Y. Lee, was taken over and used
by the Japanese as headquarters for the army staff. St. John's
University, the oldest educational institution established by the
American Episcopal Mission, was likewise closed, but later per-
mitted to resume. Japanese soldiers paid regular inspection trips
to dormitories and class-rooms.

The chief defender of foreign interests in the midst of these
developments was an American citizen named Stirling Fessenden,
who occupied the post of secretary-general of the International
Settlement, a position resembling that of city manager in the
United States. Fessenden was elected chairman of the Municipal
Council of the International Settlement in the early 1920*5, and
was familiarly known as "Lord Mayor" of the city for nearly
two decades. He was finally forced to resign, in 1939, as a result
of failing eyesight.

Fessenden was born at Fort Fairfield, Maine, and after gradu-
ation from Bowdoin College he went to Shanghai as a young law
school graduate in 1904 on a mission for the old American Trad-
ing Company of New York. He remained to become an impor-
tant figure in the hectic politics of the International Settlement,
wherein lived almost half of Shanghai's 3,500,000 people, in-
cluding nearly 100,000 foreigners of various nationalities. Fes-
senden had a wide acquaintance in both the foreign and the
Chinese communities and, of particular importance, enjoyed their
confidence and respect. During the long period of anti-foreign
agitations beginning in 1925, Fessenden was the only foreign offi-
cial in Shanghai who was in constant contact with the Chinese
leaders. On no less than three occasions he was credited with
"saving" the Settlement from possible occupation by hostile
Chinese factions. The most serious threat was in 1927, when he
blocked the Communists' attempt to take over the Settlement.
On another occasion he blocked an attempt of the Diplomatic
Body in Peiping to "take over" the Settlement and abolish its

THE PRESSURE INCREASES 327

elective form of government. The Peiping diplomats failed be-
cause they were no match for the Yankee lawyer, who knew
more about the legal status of the Settlement than any other
foreigner there. He had also the happy faculty of knowing when
to compromise with Chinese Nationalist sentiment, which re-
sented foreign activities within the country.

In 1938 Fessenden outwitted the Japanese when they at-
tempted to stuff the ballot boxes at the annual election. The
Japanese brought in a horde of new residents and provided them
with credentials for voting in the annual election. Just what hap-
pened was never explained, but the Occidentals won out by a
narrow margin. There were whispers of "Tammany tactics,"
and the Japanese claimed that several ballot boxes containing
their votes were never opened.

When Fessenden retired from the municipal government in
1939, the Municipal Council gave him a tax-free residence for
the rest of his life, but since he had antagonized the Japanese,
they retaliated, after they took over the Settlement following
Pearl Harbor, by evicting him from his house, and forcing him
to live in a squalid Russian boarding house. He had become
blind and was looked after by friendly Chinese servants, who
remained with him until the end. He died tragically of a heart
ailment on September 20, 1943, the day following the sailing of
the exchange ship Gripsholm. He was sixty-eight years old.
He was offered an opportunity to return on the Gripsholm, but
knowing the end was near, he preferred to die in Shanghai, rather
than at sea.

The Japanese always contended that the Americans and Euro-
peans never granted them an adequate voice in the administra-
tion of the International Settlement; but when the Japanese by
forceful measures obtained the upper hand, their control did not
contribute to peace, order, or public welfare. It had all the ear-
marks of a marauding expedition designed to squeeze the last
dollar out of the community and permanently to demoralize the
population.

328 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Early in 1939 I made a survey of gambling and narcotic dens
which had been established on the borders of the International
Settlement following the advent of the Japanese army. It was
found that there were 125 institutions of this character which
had been opened since the occupation of the territory by the
Imperial Japanese Army. This populous area, corresponding to
the suburban district of any large and growing American city,
was administered by the so-called "S.S.S." (Special Service Sec-
tion) of the Japanese fighting forces. The Japanese-controlled
section was separated from the areas administered by the Anglo-
Americans and the French by streets only; hence it was often
difficult to determine exactly where the International Settlement
and the French Concession ended and the Japanese-administered
areas began.

The first of these Japanese "institutions of culture" which
sprang up within a few weeks after the Japanese occupation
were gambling houses with opium dens attached. They were
operated either by Chinese of the criminal type who claimed to
be adherents of the Wang Ching-wei puppet government, or by
Japanese ronin, a type of gangster formerly in the entourage of
the daimyos or feudal barons. The Japanese military police who
patrolled the area at first made an effort to close the dens, but
the S.S.S. quickly stepped in and created a so-called "Shanghai
Supervised Amusement Department. 1 '

Gambling houses, opium-smoking and heroin-dispensing dens,
and houses of prostitution grew up like proverbial mushrooms.
Most of the places, in addition to the payment of a heavy license
fee, were taxed at the rate of $150 a day for medium-sized insti-
tutions, with higher prices running up to $500 a day for the
more elaborate "palaces." The walls of the alley-ways and streets
adjacent to entrances of the resorts were plastered with advertis-
ing posters, while the more imposing places used neon signs.
Each den had its own armed guards, most of them gunmen of
the lowest types. Nights became hideous as a result of fights
between gangs employed by rival houses, and there were fre-
quent assassinations. One imposing institution, which carried the

THE PRESSURE INCREASES 329

name of "Hollywood," boasted that it had an u army" consisting
of 400 armed guards. The Hollywood house was located on
property belonging to Wang Ching-wei, the Japanese puppet.
Battles between armed guards of the rival houses frequently ap-
proached the seriousness of small wars.

There was considerable curiosity as to the origin of the
vast amount of gambling paraphernalia which suddenly ap-
peared from nowhere, until it was discovered that an enterpris-
ing Japanese had established a factory where roulette wheels,
chuck-a-luck and fan-tan apparatus were manufactured. Consid-
erable equipment also was purchased from a thriving gambling
institution which had been operated for years on the border
between British Kowloon and Chinese territory near Canton.
Many of the Cantonese previously connected with the Canton
gambling houses, all of whom claimed to be adherents of Wang
Ching-wei, flocked to Shanghai and were associated with the
Japanese ronin in operating the gambling houses and narcotic
dens in Shanghai. Many of the houses had previously been resi-
dences owned by foreigners who had been forced to move out
of the district. But the foreign residences were soon found to be
inadequate, and new buildings of flimsy materials were erected
almost overnight. Most of these houses consisted of large gam-
bling rooms surrounded by smaller rooms, or cubicles, containing
opium-smoking divans.

Since the International Settlement had for many years pro-
hibited gambling and dealings in narcotics, the large native
population soon found itself almost overwhelmed with opportu-
nities to indulge in all forms of commercialized vice without fear
of police interference. A few foreigners, not subject to exterri-
torial control by their own consular officials, also participated in
the operation of gambling houses, but they soon became involved
in complications with the Japanese, who had no desire or inten-
tion of permitting Europeans to cut in on the vice racket. One
foreigner, a Hungarian named Joe Farren, for a time operated
a fashionable gambling establishment in the residence district,
but he ultimately had complications with the Japanese military

330 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

and was sent to the notorious Bridge House Political Prison,
where he committed suicide by hanging himself from one of the
bars of his cell-
Along with these manifestations of Japanese enterprise there
was a simultaneous introduction of the so-called Central China
Religious League, the announced purpose of which was to unite
all the religious sects of Asia into one composite group under
Japanese direction. Protestant and Catholic missionaries were
"invited" to participate in this movement, the leader of which
was a Japanese Christian, the Reverend Sabrow Yasumura. Rev-
erend Yasumura announced that he was delegated by the Japan-
ese Government to open a central office through which all
communications between Occidental missionaries and Chinese
Christians should be transmitted. He declared that Japan's ob-
jective was to "build a strong and stable China and lay down new
foundations for peace in East Asia in accordance with the spirit
of imperial Japan." He exclaimed, "It is high time for all of us
to lead the war-stricken Chinese masses, and strive for the spir-
itual advancement of China." The Japanese papers said that the
Reverend Yasumura had arranged for some six hundred Japanese
Christians and Buddhists to come to China to take over the work
formerly conducted by Occidental missionaries* He announced
that all Chinese Christian churches, Buddhist temples, and
monasteries were to be taken over by the new Japanese-directed
Central China Religious League.

All forms of Chinese business were taken over and reorgan-
ised into cartels coordinated with similar industries in Japan. For
example, all communication facilities, including the foreign radio
companies, the Chinese telephone and telegraph, were taken over
and reorganized into the Japanese-controlled Central China Tele-
Communications Company. All Chinese industrial plants such as
machine shops, iron works, cement factories, and cotton mills,
which the Japanese wanted continued in operation, were taken
over and reorganized, usually by one of the large Japanese family
monopoly groups in Japan. This applied particularly to the cot-

JHE PRESSURE INCREASES 331

ton and silk spinning and weaving industries. Factories which
the Japanese did not desire to continue in operation <vere closed,
and their mechanical equipment was junked and shipped to
Japan as scrap.

The Japanese naval authorities paid special attention to the
extensive Chinese fishery industry, which was conducted by
thousands of picturesque junks, most of them owned by indi-
viduals or family groups and organized into guilds. Since fish is
the staple diet of China's densely populated coastal provinces,
the fishery industry provided employment for tens of thousands
of people who lived on their junks and spent their lives on the
sea. After the Japanese had established their blockade of the
coast, the Japanese naval authorities announced their decision
to "reorganize" the Chinese fishery industry. A Japanese monop-
oly corporation was formed and a central fish market was opened
under Japanese supervision, which included the fixing of prices,
for the various types and grades of fish. All Chinese fishing junk
owners were ordered to bring their daily catch to the Japanese
central fish market. Any junk owner who refused or attempted
to elude the Japanese inspectors found himself in serious com-
plications with the Japanese navy. Travelers along the coast told
of seeing the wrecks of innumerable Chinese junks which had
served as targets for Japanese destroyers or gunboats.

American and European businessmen thus saw their Chinese
business associates and friends being dispossessed and robbed of
their property on every side. The jetties in the Japanese-occupied
Hongkew section of the city provided a visual demonstration of
Japan's intentions regarding Shanghai, in the enormous piles of
scrapped machinery heaped on the wharves, awaiting transporta-
tion to Japan. Early in the struggle many Chinese businessmen
managed to transport essential parts of their machinery into the
sections of the Settlement controlled by the Americans and Euro-
peans, but their freedom from Japanese extortion was short-lived,
for the Japanese seized everything after Pearl Harbor.

The State Department was frequently reiterating its stock

33* MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

warning to all Americans in China who were not engaged in
"essential" activities that they should return to the United States,
but few became excited as a result of these warnings, which
were always made every time there was a turnover in Chinese
politics, local or national. Furthermore, there never was a time,
even in 1932, when the Japanese made their first attack on
Shanghai, when there was sufficient American or British shipping
available on the Pacific to transport even half of the Anglo-
American community home in any brief period of time. Also, it
must be admitted, the Occidental population at Shanghai had
been sitting on the rim of the volcano so long that it entertained
little thought of the dangers involved for itself in the situation.

But it became more and more obvious to the Americans in
the Far East, in the summer of 1939, that the Japanese were plan-
ning an attack on the United States. Japanese military leaders
made no attempt to conceal their intentions, either in Tokyo or
on the China front; many were quite open, or even boastful, of
what they were going to do. For example, Admiral Mitsumasi
Yonai, a Navy Minister, declared in the lower house of the Diet
on February 5, "I feel extremely sorry for America when I hear
that she is planning to fortify Guam."

Probably the frankest statement of Japan's intentions ap-
peared in a book entitled "Nichi-Bei Sen Chikashi" (Japanese-
American War Imminent), which was written by Lieutenant-
General Kiyokatsu Sato, a well known commentator on military
affairs. The book was issued in the late summer of 1939, and I
printed a summary of it in the China Weekly Review of Sep-
tember 2, 1939, where it must have been read by our diplomats
in the Far East.

I had been attracted by the startling picture on the jacket,
which was in bright red and depicted the American fleet being
decimated and sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air
Force. The artist who drew the lurid picture must have been
inspired by the Japanese war god, for the drawing was prophetic
and could have been used quite appropriately to illustrate the
Japanese account of the destruction of the United States Fleet

THE PRESSURE INCREASES 333

at Pearl Harbor two years later. The startling element in Gen-
eral Sato's book was the fact that he outlined Japan's plan of attack
on Honolulu and also later campaigns which would eventually
bring the Japanese army in triumph to Washington, having con-
quered the rest of the United States en route.

Although the American community in Shanghai, businessmen
as well as missionaries, were convinced of the certainty of a gen-
eral war in the Far East which would involve the United States,
there was the equally definite feeling among the members of the
community that our people at home did not realize the serious-
ness of the situation, or its implications from the standpoint of
the future welfare and security of the United States.

As a result of this conviction, the American Information Com-
mittee was organized for the purpose of disseminating in the
United States information regarding the threatening aspects of
the crisis created by the Japanese occupation. Headed by a mis-
sionary named Edwin Marks, the committee included in its mem-
bership a large number of representatives of American business
organizations and mission bodies, and two or three journalists.
None received pay for his or her services, because everyone was
prompted by an intense desire to contribute toward a better
home understanding of the crisis. Members of the community
who were familiar with various phases of the situation were
called upon to prepare authenticated reports dealing with various
phases of the Japanese occupation, and its effect on the lives and
activities of both foreigners and Chinese. Thousands of booklets
were prepared for diwStribution in the United States to newspapers,
chambers of commerce, civic associations, etc. Funds covering
the cost of printing and postage were raised in the American
community, and members of the committee volunteered their
services in smuggling the booklets aboard non-Japanese ships
bound for the United States. We did not dare send them through
the Chinese post office, which was controlled by the Japanese
army.

XXXI
Bomb and Bayonet

I WAS RETURNING HOME late one winter evening early in 1940
when my chauffeur stopped the car and called my attention to
a crowd of people grouped about an electric light pole near a
street intersection in the French Concession. As the crowd
shifted I noticed a man's head lying on the curb at the foot of
the pole.

Thinking there had been an accident, I pushed through the
crowd of foreigners and Chinese and called to my chauffeur to
follow me and bring the flashlight we always carried in the car.

As my chauffeur switched on his light there was a cry of
horror from the crowd and I started involuntarily, for there was
no body attached to the head lying in the shadow. It was the
head of a Chinese young man which had been cut from his body
and propped up on the still bleeding stump of the neck against
the foot of the pole. The head had been cut off so recently that
there were drops of sweat on the forehead.

The crowd, whiph had now grown to considerable propor-
tions, including several men and women in evening dress who
were returning home from parties or the theater, drew back from
the gruesome sight as my chauffeur continued to play the flash-
light about the foot of the pole. Suddenly he uttered an exclama-
tion and directed my attention to a slip of paper, freshly writteft
in Chinese characters, which was pasted to the light pole about
a foot above the detached head. The chauffeur swore again as
he read and slowly translated into pidgin English the inscription
pasted on the pole.

The inscription was a "warning to editors," stating that the
head was that of a Chinese journalist who had written articles

334

BOMB AND BAYONET 335

against the Japanese and the puppet Wang Ching-wei regime.
It threatened that all other editors would suffer a similar fate
unless they discontinued their attacks on the Japanese or the
puppet, Wang Ching-wei. The beam from the flashlight in the
hand of my chauffeur switched back to the face of the latest
victim of a new form of Japanese atrocity and he swore again,
exclaiming in his limited English "belong Wong from Shun Pao."
So it was Wong, an assistant editor of one of the leading
Chinese papers, who had disappeared mysteriously a few weeks
previously. It had been rumored that he was taken to a notorious
hang-out on the edge of the International Settlement known as
"No. 76 Jessfield Road," in the center of the so-called "bad-
lands" where the puppet Wang Ching-wei and his gangsters had
their headquarters. The place, an old-style foreign residence,
surrounded by a high wall with a heavy iron gate, had been taken
over by the Wang Ching-wei crowd and fitted out with various
forms of torture apparatus, including electrical devices for use
in forcing victims to disclose the whereabouts of relatives and
friends, or hiding places of jewelry or treasure.

It was the custom to hold wealthy or influential prisoners at
"No. 76" and permit them to observe other prisoners being tor-
tured; and after several days of this the victims would be offered
their freedom on condition they would agree to join the puppet
Nanking Government, or, if they happened to be wealthy or
had wealthy relatives, to hand over a large sum of money. Jabin
Hsu, graduate of the University of Michigan, and formerly a
well known journalist who had served as press relations officer
with the National Finance Ministry, was held prisoner for a
month in a cell from which he could observe almost daily execu-
tions in the adjoining courtyard. To regain his freedom, Hsu
was forced to hand over his family fortune, amounting to
$300,000, and agree to join the staff of the puppet central bank.
Hsu told me in an interview following his release that his captors
had assured him that he could quickly recoup his fortune by
becoming an officer of the puppet state bank.

The chief jailer at "No. 76" was an ex-chauffeur named Wu

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Su-pao who had once driven the car of Stirling Fessenden,
American chairman of the International Settlement administra-
tion. Due to his position as the No. i chauffeur Wu became fat,
prosperous, and arrogant. He was engaged in numerous racket-
eering activities, including the secret sale of gasoline and tires
from the municipal garage, to which he had access. When the
Japanese organized the puppet Wang Ching-wei government,
Wu Su-pao was placed in charge of the gangster hang-out at
"No. 76." It was his custom to take the prisoners out for a walk
in the evenings, the stroll ending up at a corner of the walled
compound, where there were several freshly filled graves. Wu
would then throw his arm affectionately over the victim's shoul-
der and tell him of the benefits to be derived from joining the
puppet regime or contributing a liberal sum to its support. It
was hardly necessary for him to mention the consequences of
refusal.

But Chinese newspapermen almost to a man remained loyal
to their government, despite the fact that the foreign settlements
were entirely surrounded by the Japanese army and they were
in constant danger of assassination. Also they had an almost fan-
atical faith in the ability of the Americans and Britons to hold
the International Settlement.

As the situation grew more serious the Japanese and puppet
assassins intensified their attacks on the Chinese papers. One
evening as I was working in my office there was a heavy dull
explosion in the vicinity, which shook the building. A bomb had
been thrown into the office of the Hua Mei Wm Pao, a Chinese
paper which had its office next door to the building occupied by
the China Press and the China Weekly Review, Several news-
boys and office coolies were killed. On another occasion six
hand-grenades were thrown at the windows of the Shin Ptto,
resulting in the killing of one printer and the wounding of sev-
eral others. Other bombs were exploded on the front steps lead-
ing to the office of the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, and

BOMB AND BAYONET 337

on one occasion a bomb was secreted in the printing press, but
there were no casualties, and little damage resulted.

Later, however, the Evening Post suffered a real tragedy
when Samuel H. Chang, editor of the Post's Chinese edition, was
shot in the back and killed by an assassin as he was sitting in a
German restaurant on Nanking Road in the International Settle-
ment. Sammy, who was well known among the foreign cor-
respondents as a source of information on political developments,
had been accustomed to stopping at the restaurant in the after-
noons for a cup of coffee and a sandwich. The assassin was never
apprehended, but the police discovered that Sammy's car had
been trailed by a car belonging to Tang Leang-li, the Nazi-
trained agent of Wang Ching-wei, but they were not able to
determine whether Tang was the actual murderer.

Samuel H. Chang was born in Swatow, China, and was gradu-
ated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, After his return
to China he worked on three American papers, the North China
Star, the China Press, and the Shanghai Evening Post and Mer-
cury. His wife was a member of a well known Chinese family
living in Salt Lake City, Utah, The assassination of Sammy Chang
brought home to foreign newspapermen the seriousness of the
Japanese attack on the free press which had existed in the Inter-
national Settlement almost from its establishment in 1842. It also
caused me to remember a threat by a Japanese gendarmerie offi-
cer that all American-educated Chinese would ultimately be
assassinated or driven from the country after the Japanese had
won the war.

The most serious gangster attack on any Chinese paper, how-
ever, was on the Chinese edition of the China Press, which was
printed in a warehouse adjoining our office and reached from the
street by a narrow alley-way. One night six armed gangsters
attempted to enter the printing plant but were detected by the
watchman, who slammed shut the heavy iron gate, blocking their
entrance. A policeman was attracted by the commotion and fired
several shots at the gangsters. The shots were returned, and as

338 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

more policemen came up the fight grew to the proportions of a
battle. An American ex-sailor named Tug Wilson, who owned
a near-by bar and restaurant frequented by newspapermen, ran
across the street to assist the police and was shot dead. One
Chinese pedestrian was killed, several were wounded, and plate
glass windows on both sides of the block were shattered. The
gangsters managed to reach their car and escaped, but not before
killing a policeman on another street who attempted to halt
them as they sped toward the "badlands."

In July, 1941, there came the first attack on American and
other foreign newspapermen. The Central China Daily News,
organ of the Wang Ching-wei puppet regime, published a "black-
list" of local newspapermen who, it declared, were scheduled for
early "deportation." The list contained the names of seven for-
eigners and some eighty Chinese newspapermen. It was rumored
that Tang Leang-li had been assisted in compiling the list by a
renegade foreign newspaperman who had been on Tang's pay-
roll for two or three years but had suddenly left the city after
the publication of the list.

The foreigners listed for "deportation" included my name at
the top, followed by those of C. V. Starr, publisher, and Randall
Gould, editor of the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury; Car-
roll Alcott, member of the staff of the China Press and radio
commentator over the American station XMHA; Hal R Mills,
editor of a theatrical journal and nominal editor of the Chinese
paper Hua Mei Wan Pao; Norwood F. Allman, lawyer and reg-
istered owner of the Shun Pao; and a Briton, J. A. E. Sanders-
Bates, manager of the University Press, which published several
Chinese papers. At the top of the Chinese list was the name of
Woo Kya-tang, a brilliant Chinese journalist, a graduate of the
School of Journalism of the University of Missouri, who was
managing editor of the China Press. Woo was married to an
American girl, a former classmate at the university, Betty Hart
of Kansas City. The names of more than a dozen members of the

BOMB AND BAYONET 339

editorial and mechanical staffs of the Shun Pao were also on
the list.

Immediately after the publication of the "black-list" the
municipal police stationed guards at all of the newspaper offices,
and in my casement a plain-clothes Chinese detective to sit in my
front office and accompany me as I walked home in the evenings.
Several days later, in the afternoon, as I was walking toward the
American Club where I had resided for several years, I was
struck on my back below my shoulder by an object which I
thought was a piece of wood about a foot and a half long and
about two inches in diameter. I was nearly knocked down by
the blow, and, thinking a piece of timber had fallen from a
scaffolding where carpenters were making repairs, I glanced
upward, but saw nothing. I then looked at the object which had
glanced off my back against the wall of the building and was
still rolling along the sidewalk a few feet from where I was
standing. Noticing that it was wrapped in a newspaper, and not
suspecting its nature, I reached down and picked it up. As my
fingers closed on the missile I realized that it was a "potato-
masher" type of hand-grenade used by both the Japanese and
Chinese armies. I resisted the impulse to drop it, as I noticed that
the cord which released the mechanism had only been pulled
part way out; had I thrown it down the shock might have
caused it to explode. It was nothing short of a miracle that it
had failed to explode when it glanced off my shoulder and struck
the building.

By this time my bodyguard, who was walking several feet
behind me on the crowded sidewalk, came running up and I
showed him the hand-grenade. He immediately drew his revolver
and glanced around at the crowd which had begun to assemble.
I told him to go to the corner and summon a policeman, in the
meantime carefully placing the explosive on the sidewalk and
motioning the people to keep away from it. Soon a Chinese
policeman hurried up and after I had explained the incident he,

340 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

with what seemed to me a singular lack of imagination, also
picked up the grenade and carried it, held at arm's length in
front of him, with my bodyguard walking ahead to clear the
way, to the central police station, where it was immersed in a
bucket of water. Examination showed it to be a live bomb, but
the man who tossed it had been apparently in too great a hurry
as he failed to pull the firing pin out sufficiently to cause the
grenade to explode. It was suggested in some quarters that the
intention might have been only to frighten me and cause me to
discontinue my critical editorial policy regarding the activities
of the Japanese and their puppets. The police, however, dis-
counted this suggestion.

A few days after the attack on me a man having close con-
nections with both the Japanese and the Nanking puppets called
on me and suggested that I "sell" the China Weekly Review.
I indignantly rejected the offer.

Japanese and puppet attacks on the press of the International
Settlement were not confined to attempts to assassinate editors
and news writers. Since the Japanese had seized the central
Chinese post office when they occupied the Hongkew section of
the International Settlement, they immediately banned the trans-
mission through the mail of any newspapers of whose policies
they disapproved. However, the presence of Japanese censors
and inspectors in the post office was not sufficient to intimidate
members of the loyal Chinese postal staff, who secretly cooper-
ated with the newspapers in helping them elude the Japs. The
practice was for the loyal clerks in the post office to telephone
the circulation managers of papers at night and tell them when
the Jap guards had gone out to eat, or were asleep or drunk. The
circulation clerks would then rush the papers to the post office,
where the sacks would be stamped with counterfeit seals indicat-
ing they had been passed by the Japanese censors. The loyal
Chinese clerks became so skillful in eluding the Japanese postal
censors that it almost amounted to the operation of dual post
offices, one subject to Japanese censorship and the other operated

BOMB AND BAYONET 341

by the loyal staff who defied the Japs. As proof of the skill of the
postal staff, they succeeded in smuggling out of Japanese-con-
trolled Shanghai and into Free China the last issue of the China
Weekly Review, dated December 6, 1941, issued from the press
only a few hours before the Japanese crossed the boundaries of
the International Settlement.

Of the seven foreign newspapermen "black-listed" for de-
portation or assassination three, G V. Starr, Randall Gould,
and Carroll Alcott, shortly departed for the United States on one
of the last American ships and thus missed the fury of the Japs
after Pearl Harbor. Another, Norwood Altaian, had gone to
Hong Kong to arrange for shipments of print paper. He was
caught there and imprisoned in Camp Stanley until repatriated
on the Gripsholm. My son, John Wm. Powell, who had been a
reporter on the China Press, also departed on one of the last
American ships.

Why did I remain in Shanghai?

That question is difficult, because it involves both tangible
and intangible factors. Among the tangible factors was my staff
of loyal Chinese assistants in the front office and mechanical
department who had stuck by me, some almost throughout the
period of my residence in Shanghai. This loyalty extended down
to the lowest coolie on the staff, who slept in the office and car-
ried the mail past the Japanese pickets, who never spared their
bayonets if anything aroused their suspicion. I had no intention
of abandoning them to the Japanese, who would certainly take
vengeance on them in case I departed,

Next among the tangibles was the fact that, in addition to my
regular newspaper work, I was director of a secret radio station
owned by Press Wireless, Inc., which had been operated under
the nose of the Japanese censors who controlled all the other
communication services, including the cable companies and the
American R.C.A., and Mackay radio services. As the situation
became more critical it became all the more vital that the last
remaining uncensored radio service be kept in operation. We

342 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

succeeded in accomplishing this seemingly impossible task up to
10 o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1941, and cleared all
the messages telling of the occupation of Shanghai, before the
Japs found our station and took it over.

Among the intangible factors was loyalty to the community.
Although the State Department and the navy had provided means
of transportation for many of the women and children and others
whose work was not regarded as "essential," a majority of the
Americans, both businessmen and missionaries, remained. There
was another, a smaller group, who imagined they were on such
good terms with the Japanese that they would be able to con-
tinue without molestation. One man boasted that he had enter-
tained so many Japanese army officers, he was sure he wouldn't
be interfered with. He also boasted of the handsome fees he had
received as retainers from the Japanese (before Pearl Harbor).
There were still others who "went over" entirely to the Japanese
and accepted employment with them. This included several
newspapermen, one of whom became a broadcaster and news
commentator over the Japanese station and denounced several
of his colleagues as "espionage officers who had worked against
the Japanese." Other American and British newspapermen con-
tinued in positions on two newspapers, the Shanghai Evening
Post (American) and the Shanghai Times (British), which had
been taken over by the Japanese and continued in publication
under Japanese editors.

XXXII

Shadow of the Hun

IF ONE COULD ONLY SEE into the future for six months, three
months, one month, one day!

Shanghai newspapers, read now, more than three years after
the Japs landed on the Shanghai Bund, almost simultaneously
with Pearl Harbor, show many signs of the coming storm. But
at the time neither the readers nor the editors of the Shanghai
newspapers realized the tragedy in store for them.

Of greatest significance perhaps were the accounts of the
influx of German Nazis, many of whom had been expelled from
the United States and Latin America. At the top of the list was
Captain Fritz Wiedemann, former German Consul-General at
San Francisco and aide to Hitler's master of intrigue, Propaganda
Minister Paul Joseph Goebbels. Wiedemann arrived at Shanghai
early in October, 1941. Reports issued by the German news
agencies stated that Wiedemann was scheduled for the post of
Consul-General at Tientsin, on its face quite a come-down from
the important post he had occupied at San Francisco, speeding
Nazi propaganda and propagandists from the New World to the
ancient Orient and vice versa. But the dashing Wiedemann's
talents were not to be wasted at the little North China port.

Wiedemann's arrival in the Orient was in keeping with his
usual flair for the dramatic. He declared in an interview that the
British had given him safe-conduct, whereas the British probably
would have given a great deal to have apprehended him. He had
tried to leave San Francisco secretly on a Japanese ship but was
detected, taken ashore by the United States authorities, sent

343

344 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

across the country under guard to New York, and back to Ger-
many on a special ship along with other Nazi agents. However,
he did not remain long in Germany and suddenly turned up,
supposedly from a submarine, at the Nazi base in Latin America,
Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. Here he boarded a Japanese
boat for Tokyo, bearing numerous briefcases and suitcases filled
with documents for the Nazi Ambassador in Tokyo and other
Nazi agents in the Far East, including Herr M. Fischer, German
diplomatic representative to the Japanese-supported puppet
Wang Chingwei in Nanking.

The reason for Wiedemann's appointment to the unimportant
consular position at Tientsin was disclosed shortly after his arrival
in Shanghai. The Nazis expected an early collapse of Soviet
Russia, following an attack by Hitler in the East and Japan in
the West, and were preparing an organization to accompany an
expected Japanese invasion of Outer Mongolia and Siberia from
Manchukuo. The Japanese had long been training a White Rus-
sian "army" in Tientsin for use in the Siberian adventure. The
Russian army, consisting possibly of two regiments conscripted
in the Russian communities in North China and Manchuria, was
nominally headed by the old Cossack Ataman Semenoff, who
had been in Japanese pay since the Russian revolution.

Wiedemann's arrival in Shanghai was rightly regarded as
evidence of an active Nazi diplomatic offensive in the Far East,
designed to offset Anglo-American efforts to force a Japanese
withdrawal from China. Hitler had long since withdrawn all
German military advisers from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's
headquarters, in deference to Japan's wishes, and had granted
diplomatic recognition to the puppet state of Manchukuo and
the puppet government of Wang Ching-wei at Nanking. Wiede-
mann had attended the celebration of the anniversary of the
signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact in Tokyo on September 27,
and had conferred with the growing colony of some 3,ooo-odd
German experts who had arrived in Japan, chiefly from Mexico
and other Latin-American countries, in mid-October, These
experts included reinforcements for embassy and consular staffs

SHADOW OF THE HUN 345

in both China and Japan, but of even more importance were
several specialists for service in key posts in the Japanese Gov-
ernment, particularly in the Home Ministry. German propa-
gandists arriving in Shanghai gave out interviews, published in
English in the Nazi propaganda organs in Shanghai, forecasting
that the Japanese- American conversations in Washington "were
certain to be disrupted."

The British had attempted to break the tide of Nazi agents
and propaganda which was flowing into Japan and China from
United States West Coast ports, chiefly San Francisco. A British
naval vessel intercepted the Japanese liner Asama Mam outside
Yokohama, and removed several high Nazi officials who were
on their way to Japan and China from the United States and
South America. Later, the British ship was forced to hand most
of these officials back to the Japanese, following a strong protest
by the Tokyo authorities. The German Ambassador in Tokyo,
Eugene Ott, had participated in the Japanese protest from behind
the scenes.

Other well known Nazi agents who arrived secretly in the
Far East by way of Japan included Dr. Johannes Borchers, who
was scheduled for the post of Consul-General in Shanghai.
Borchers had previously served as Consul-General in New York.
Another, who had arrived somewhat earlier and had inaugurated
the Nazi- White Russian set-up at Tientsin, was Walther Fucffe.
Reports in the papers stated that his primary object was to stir
up anti-Russian unrest in North China and Outer Mongolia, and
to lay the foundation for an Axis orbit in Asia that would facili-
tate the link-up between Japan and Germany following the
anticipated collapse of Russia. The Germans also expected to
take over the International Settlement and the French Conces-
sion at Shanghai following the outbreak of war between Japan
and the Anglo-American Powers, and had the personnel ready
for the various offices.

Upon Wiedeinann's arrival in Shanghai there was a confer-
ence of all high Nazi officials in the Far East in the quarters of

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the Nazi "center," which included the German School, the Nazi
drill hall, and a radio station, located in Chinese territory con-
trolled by the puppet Wang Ching-wei Government, but directly
across the street from the border of the International Settlement.
The conference was attended by Dr. Martin Fischer, German
Minister to the Wang Ching-wei Government; Ernst Wendler,
German minister to Thailand (Siam), and Christian Zinsser, Act-
ing Consul-General at Shanghai. Zinsser had previously been
expelled from Guatemala and Honduras for Nazi intrigue.
Another attendant at the conference was a Colonel Meysinger,
allegedly a high member of the Gestapo who had been sent to
the Far East for special work.

Other lesser-fry Nazi agents and propagandists who arrived
in Shanghai in the weeks immediately preceding Pearl Harbor
included Dr. Klaus Mehnert, who had long been a Nazi secret
agent and propagandist while serving as a member of the faculty
of the University of Hawaii at Honolulu. Soon after his arrival
in Shanghai Dr. Mehnert started an English-language magazine
which he called The XXth Century. Mehnert spoke English so
perfectly that no one suspected he was German until he started
the Nazi magazine. Another well known Nazi propagandist who
arrived by way of Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Honolulu, and
Tokyo was C Flick or Flick-Steger, who had received his edu-
cation in the United States and was thought by many to be an
American citizen. Flick had gone to Germany, where he served
for several years as assistant to Karl von Wiegand, Hearst's well
known Berlin correspondent. Karl von Wiegand was also in
Shanghai and had resided at the Park Hotel for many months,
where he covered the Far Eastern situation in weekly dispatches
to the Hearst press. Von Wiegand, an American citizen,
had a wide acquaintance with both German and Japanese official-
dom. He received almost daily communications from the Tokyo
Foreign Minister, which enabled him to scoop the other cor-
respondents. His daughter was married to a German physician
who had resided in Shanghai for many years. Flick-Steger was

SHADOW OF THE HUN 347

manager of the Nazi radio stations XGRS and XHHB in Shang-
hai, broadcasting in English and , Chinese. The chief English-
language news commentator and broadcaster was Herbert Moy,
a New York born and educated Chinese. He was assisted by
another American citizen, Robert Fodder, who went to Shanghai
originally as a jazz-band leader in a Shanghai night club. Another
Chinese-American connected with the German Transocean
News Service in Shanghai was Francis Lee, but he resigned after
Pearl Harbor, and, accompanied by two other American cor-
respondents, succeeded in escaping to Chungking.

Nazi propaganda in Shanghai was mainly anti- American and
anti-Jewish in character, the two terms usually being linked
together in Nazi references to American officialdom and State
Department policies* The first distribution of anti-Jewish propa-
ganda, probably the first in Shanghai's history, took place in a
novel manner. When the German Nazi diplomats and agents
began arriving in Shanghai in large numbers in 1940 and 1941,
they found all of the British-owned hotels closed to them. They
therefore took up quarters at the Park Hotel, a new Chinese-
owned hostelry, which had been built on American lines. It was
the tallest building in the city, sixteen stories, fronting on the
Race Course, chief recreation center for foreigners in the city.
One Saturday afternoon in late October when the Race Course
was filled with people attending the fall race meeting, the sky
was suddenly filled with leaflets as though distributed from an
airplane. The leaflets contained anti- Jewish inscriptions printed
in both English and Chinese. It was discovered that the leaflets
had been distributed from the tower of the Park Hotel, and had
been carried by the high wind over the Race Course.

There was a tragic element involved in the initiation of anti-
Jewish propaganda, always a preliminary to anti- Jewish persecu-
tion, due to the fact that there had arrived in Shanghai in recent
months some 25,000 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria.
Many of these refugees had arrived in Shanghai after months of
travel about the world seeking a place to land. They had

348 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

finally come to Shanghai, because it was the only port in the
world where a passport visa was not necessary for landing privi-
leges in the International Settlement. The refugees were quar-
tered in tenement property where they were supported by funds
raised locally or transmitted from Jewish relief societies in New
York and London. They were greatly assisted by two well
known Jewish residents of the Settlement, Sir Victor Sassoon,
British, and M. Speelman, Dutch, large property owners, who
provided free quarters for the refugees. The Japanese seized all
of the property after Pearl Harbor and forced the refugees to
live in a squalid "ghetto" on the Nazi order. The New York
committee sent a representative to Shanghai to supervise the dis-
tribution of food, clothing, and financial assistance.

Financial assistance took the form of small loans to individuals
and groups to enable them to engage in business activities to
which they had been accustomed before being expelled from
their homes by the German Nazis. In some quarters it was thought
that the advent of Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria
might be beneficial to the commercial life of Shanghai, as the
Jews, being adept at the management of small businesses, would
tend to offset the influx of Japanese which had followed the mili-
tary invasion in 1937. At any rate it was hoped that they might
be able to bridge over the time until they could be located else-
where or possibly return to their homes in Europe.

Thousands of the Jewish refugees had begun to gain a foot-
hold in the Shanghai community as small merchants or in pro-
fessional lines, when the fresh storm of Nazi propaganda broke
about their heads. Most of the Nazi circulars followed familiar
lines. One circular distributed early in November contained the
names of 2jo Shanghai Jewish firms or American and British
firms which employed Jewish clerks or assistants. The list was
accompanied by a letter ordering all "Aryans" to boycott the
Jewish firms and threatening, in the event of non-compliance,
that violators would have their names and photographs supplied
to the head Nazi organization in Berlin for "appropriate action,"
the nature of which was left to the imagination. The long arm

SHADOW OF THE HUN 349

of German Nazism was extending into the Orient as it already
had done in North and South America.

Previously there had never been any manifestations of anti-
Semitism among either the Chinese or the Japanese. Most of the
Jews already resident in the large cities of China and Japan had
reached the Orient by way of Bagdad, Aden, Bombay, and Singa-
pore. China in her ancient past had absorbed a large colony of
Jews which had settled in Honan Province. The origin of the
once numerous and thriving Jewish colony at the city of Kai-
f eng, Honan, has always remained a mystery, but modern investi-
gation had proved the fact of its existence. Numerous descend-
ants of the early Jews are to be found there today, speaking
Chinese, wearing Chinese clothes, and living as other members
of the Chinese community do. Other colonies of Oriental Jews
which settled at Japanese ports, particularly Kobe, also had been
absorbed into the local Japanese communities.

The list of business firms which the Nazi circular scheduled
for boycotting was interesting, as it indicated the type of busi-
nesses in which the German refugees were engaged: fur stores,
pharmacies, women's tailors, photographers, leather and handbag
shops, children's garments, shoes and stockings, food and provi-
sions, jewelers, art dealers, men's tailors also selling woolen cloth,
beauty parlors, cabarets, theaters, night clubs. There were sixty-
nine women's dress-making and tailor shops in the list. It was
rumored that there had been considerable racketeering in connec-
tion with the compilation of the list, as the Nazi promoters had
offered to omit names of particular shops where the proprietors
were willing or able to pay bribes. The Nazi organization which
had charge of this phase of the anti- Jewish "drive" occupied a
suite in the Park Hotel Tower which rented for $2,500 a month.

When the Japanese occupation threw Shanghai's commercial
life into confusion the refugee Jewish population enjoyed a tem-
porary prosperity, for much of the merchandise which the Japa-
nese looted from Anglo-American homes and offices was sold
to the second-hand stores and pawnshops and then became a

350 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

matter of public barter. Hundreds of the refugees would con-
gregate at the corner of Nanking and Szechwan Roads, adjacent
to the Shanghai branch of the Chase Bank, reminiscent of the old
curb market in New York. Here one could buy anything from
a worn fur coat or a second-hand dress to a dozen aspirin tablets.
One heard of lucky individuals who had cornered this or that
article, and the prices in the inflated currency shot up to unbe-
lievable heights. A suit of tailor-made clothes cost $4,000 or
$5,000 Chinese; a pair of shoes, anywhere from $500 to $1,500.
An amusing story was told about an enterprising Viennese who
went around to all the second-hand stores and pawnshops and
bought up all the garments containing "zippers," thus making
himself the controller of this important product, as no more
could be imported and they could not be manufactured locally.
The results of the German anti-Jewish propaganda were soon
apparent. Neither the Japanese nor their Chinese puppets were
interested in the ideological phases of anti-Semitism as spread by
Hitler's Nazi agents, but they were not averse to -taking advan-
tage of the movement for purposes of selfish gain. An English-
language paper, having Japanese and puppet Chinese backing,
published an editorial charging that wealthy Shanghai Jews had
extended financial assistance to the Kuomintang Party. The edi-
torial contained the following revealing paragraph:

. . . there is not the slightest doubt that the situation in which
China finds herself today would never have been of such duration,
except for financial assistance extended to the Kuomintang Govern-
ment ... by the Jews. It is estimated that at least 75 per cent of the
revenues of most local commercial establishments go to the Jews
. . . this is also true in the biggest cities of the world, London and
New York. . . . Berlin is the one exception now.

The allegation that 75 per cent of the income of local indus-
tries and business establishments went to Jews was untrue, as
revenue statistics of the International Settlement showed that
approximately four-fifths of the local taxes were paid by Chinese
retail properties, industrial or large commercial interests. It was

SHADOW OF THE HUN 351

true that the largest blocks of downtown real estate were owned
by Jews, the Sassoons, Ezras, Hardoons, Shamoons, and others,
most of whom were from Persia, Arabia, or India, and had Brit-
ish nationality. The Sassoons had made vast fortunes in India
and had made heavy investments in Shanghai following the
Nationalist Revolution in 1927. Most of the Sassoon investments
were in hotels, apartment houses, and office buildings, and the
Japanese and their puppets immediately saw the possibilities for
profit through seizure of Sassoon properties in the event of war.
The process was started by the Nanking Government when it
confiscated the property of the Hardoon estate. After Pearl
Harbor the Japanese Government seized all the Sassoon and
Shamoon properties, announcing that the action had been taken
in order to "protect" the properties.

Shanghai was flooded not only with anti-Jewish propaganda,
but also with general Nazi propaganda, including every known
type of booklet and circular. I made a collection of thirty sepa-
rate types of Nazi propaganda literature distributed in Shanghai,
and presumably in other Chinese cities, in the six months preced-
ing Pearl Harbor. The collection ranged from illustrated maga-
zines, with the usual quota of rotogravure German damsels in
the nude, to books of 300 pages. One book, entitled, "How They
Lie," consisted of excerpts from the American United Press and
British Renter's new services, skillfully arranged in parallel col-
umns to emphasize the difference between official British state-
ments and the final outcome of particular events referred to in
the dispatches, such as Hitler's Balkan campaign, the drive into
Greece, Crete, etc. Another booklet, "Two Men on a Boat,"
dealt sarcastically with the Roosevelt-Churchill "Eight Point
Declaration." On the back page was the following reference to
the President of the United States:

Surrounded by a group of rapacious financiers and money-sharks,
resentful and vindictive Jews, armament profiteers, and other rogues,
he sought re-election for a third term by deliberate lying. He sol-
emnly promised to keep the United States out of war. So soon as the
third term was secure, he all of a sudden discovered all manner of

352 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

perils allegedly threatening the Western Hemisphere. When the
American people still persisted in declining participation in Britain's
war, Roosevelt cast away the mask. ... His latest order to the
American Navy to shoot on Axis vessels at sight, is a plain act of war.
To pursue the selfish aims of his plutocratic war-clique, he will sac-
rifice American lives. ... He feels no compunction at making all
decent and peaceful Americans labour and toil for their own enslave-
ment. . . . History will call it the greatest betrayal ever perpetrated
by a President against the American people. . . . Look for the
outcome!

Aside from the ami- American broadcasts over the Nazi radio
stations, the Nazi organization also inaugurated extensive anti-
American propaganda campaigns in Chinese through the puppet
Wang Ching-wei vernacular newspapers. In this way they were
assisted by Tang Leang-li, who was Wang Ching-wefs chief
secretary and propagandist. The head of the Nazi press bureau
in Shanghai was F. Cordt, who spent much of his time with offi-
cials of the puppet Government in Nanking.

Chief organ for dissemination of anti-American propaganda
was the German Transocean News Service. The issue of the
Chirm Weekly Review for October 4, 1941, only two months
before Pearl Harbor, contained a summary of anti-American re-
ports which had appeared in Transocean. One dispatch from
Stockholm said that "living standards in the United States were
being impaired in order to supply Great Britain with adequate
assistance/' The summary in the Review follows;

A dispatch from Berlin on Sept. 4, distributed in Shanghai by
Transocean under the heading of "Commentary," referred to Presi-
dent Roosevelt's Labor Day address as demonstrating all the charac-
teristics of "brutal force and lust for power." [It] declared, "even
the citizens of the United States must ask themselves whether it is riot
the policy of their President which, with its brutal penetration of
South America, with its interference in the sphere of purely Euro-
pean interests, and with its continuous sabre-rattling, bears all the
characteristics of brutal force and lust for power," In the third para-
graph the German report dragged in its old favorite, "Jewish influ-
ence.* 1 The following statement appeared, u . . . it is known to every-

SHADOW OF THE HUN 353

body that under the regime of Franklin Roosevelt even in boom times
ii millions were unemployed in the United States. * . . Roosevelt,
the 'Democrat' who is in his office as the paid servant of Jewry, has
now entered a moral alliance with the deadly enemy of every democ-
racy, with Bolshevism.'*

Transocean followed a consistent policy of reporting fully all
anti-administration speeches of Senator Wheeler, Lindbergh and all
comment against the Administration which appeared in such papers
as the Chicago Tribune and the Hearst press. In this connection
Transocean performed an interesting journalistic "stunt" by cabling
back to Shanghai practically all of the dispatches sent from Shanghai
to the Hearst press in the United States by the Hearst correspondent,
Karl von Wiegand, who was stationed in Shanghai. In other words,
von Wiegand, who obtained most of his information from Nazi and
Japanese sources in Shanghai and wired his reports to the Hearst
press, may, if he wishes, read his dispatches all over again in Trans-
ocean reports from Berlin and New York a few days later.

The German news service also displayed in its reports distributed
in Shanghai, deepest compassion for the "unfortunate victims of
American aggression in Iceland." One Transocean dispatch revealed
the alleged contents of a letter written by an Icelander to a relative
in South America which, according to the report, "fell into German
hands." The letter said that the Americans had "invaded our country
like a swarm of locusts," a curious figure of speech to be used by a
resident of an Arctic land. The Icelander expressed the fear that the
Americans would consume all of the available food on the island and
that the inhabitants would starve "because the effective German
submarine blockade was sinking tonnage in our waters with greatest
success."

On September 25, a Transocean dispatch referring to the proposal
to arm merchantmen, quoted an editorial which had appeared in a
Berlin publication and was headed "Roosevelt Running Amuck."

On September 28, there was a brief Transocean dispatch from
Mexico City, which quoted a complaint that a Mexican tanker had
to spend a week in the port of Houston, Texas, awaiting repairs,
"because preferential treatment in U.S. dockyards is being given to
damaged British ships."

Also, on September 28, there was another interesting dispatch
quoting the world-famous Swedish explorer, Sven Hedin, as declaring
that the war "which Stalin had been preparing in order to extinguish
Western civilization and Christianity would be a thousand times
worse than was the onslaught on western civilization by the Mon-

354 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

golian tribes in former centuries." Sven Hedin asked "whether
Americans were without pangs of conscience in putting weapons in
the hands of the Bolsheviks in order to assist them in their fight
against Italians, Germans, Finns, Hungarians, Slovakians and Ruman-
ians," Sven Hedin's article appeared in a new Berlin periodical named
"Berlin-Rome-Tokyo" and described as an organ "close to the Wil-
helmstrasse," This was apparently the first indication to reach the
Far East that Sven Hedin, well known Swedish explorer in the Far
East, had allegedly cast his lot with the Nazis,

Nazi propaganda against Americans and Britons in Shanghai
displayed a viciousness which may have indicated that the Ger-
mans had not forgotten their animosities over the part played by
the British, Americans and French in deporting them from
Shanghai after the fighting ceased at the end of World War I.
Since China, in World War I, had delayed declaration of war
against the Germans, the deportation was not carried out until
after the armistice. As the deportation, which was carried out
by the Americans, British and French, involved a serious loss of
face on the part of the Germans in the eyes of the Chinese, the
Germans were deeply resentful. The deportation incident was
later dramatized by several German writers in books and plays
which were used by the Nazis to stir up hatred against the Allies.

XXXIII
History Punctuated

I WAS AWAKENED ABOUT 4 O'CLOCK on the morning of Decem-
ber 8, 1941, by what I thought was the explosion of three or
four large firecrackers outside my window. I did not realize that
the explosion marked the end of International Shanghai as it had
existed for almost a century since 1842.

The explosion seemed to come from the street just outside
my window in the American Club, about two blocks from the
Bund, the street which runs along the Whangpoo River, Shang-
hai's harbor.

When the blasts were followed by several more, I realized
something had happened which I as a newspaper man should
investigate. Hurriedly putting on my clothes, I ran downstairs.
As I reached the front door the watchman, a White Russian,
exclaimed, "Japanese come!"

I ran toward the Bund, overtaking on my way two other
newspaper correspondents, who also lived at the club and had
been awakened by the bombs. Our way to the Bund was blocked
by a Japanese sailor in full war equipment. He pointed a rifle at
us, with bayonet fixed. We turned back to the next cross-street,
only to find that all of the streets leading to the Bund were
barred by armed Japanese, who were gradually extending their
lines into the business section,

Our curiosity was stimulated by the fact that the whole
waterfront was suddenly illuminated by a large fire. Someone
suggested we climb to the roof of one of the buildings back from
the Bund, which we did, and discovered that the fire came from
a ship which had been anchored almost directly in front of the
International Settlement.

355

MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Two smaller fires, which seemed to be floating about the
harbor, turned out to be launches. Near the burning ship was
anchored the U.S.S. Wake, a river patrol boat which the United
States Navy had used for several years on the Yangtze.

The Wake was brilliantly illuminated and appeared to be a
hive of activity. We were joined by other newspaper men con-
nected with the press associations, who told us news had just
been received that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, had de-
stroyed the American Fleet, had declared war on the United
States and Britain, and was in the process of occupying Shanghai.

The blazing ship in the harbor was the British gunboat Petrel,
which had been dynamited by its crew when the Japanese sent
a destroyer alongside and demanded its surrender. We won-
dered what had happened aboard the Wake, because it carried
a contingent of American sailors, who had previously retired
from the navy and had been engaged in various occupations in
Shanghai, prior to being called up for service in recent weeks-
It had been rumored among the foreigners in Shanghai that
the Americans also had planted dynamite in the hold of the
Wake and intended to sink the vessel in the event of Japanese
attack.

The regular crew of the Wake, as well as all other American
service men, including the Fourth United States Marines, had
been transferred to Manila several days previously by order of
Admiral Thomas Charles Hart, stationed in the Philippines.
Admiral Hart, since retired from the navy and sent to the United
States Senate by his home State, Connecticut, is a submarine
expert and deserves much credit for our submarine campaign, a
disastrous one for Japanese shipping.

The highest ranking American naval officer at Shanghai be-
fore the attack, Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Jr,, had
taken all the American river patrol boats excepting the Wake
to Manila, a somewhat precarious enterprise because the boats
were not constructed for sea service and all would have been
swamped had they run into a typhoon.

Since there had been a crew of some twenty-five aboard the

HISTORY PUNCTUATED 357

Wake, we wondered why they had not put up some resistance
or sunk the ship, as the British had done with the Petrel. We
learned later that the Wake was only left in Shanghai for radio
communication purposes by the American consulate.

We also learned later that most of the American sailors on
the Wake jumped overboard and swam to a Panamanian freighter
anchored in the harbor, where they were concealed by the crew.

There was a valuable radio equipment on the Wake which
the Japs seized.

The Japanese made a great to-do about the capture of the
American vessel, which was exploited in Japan and in the Japa-
nese-controlled press in China. One would have thought from
the description of the capture that the Wake was a io,ooo~ton
cruiser rather than a gunboat of a few hundred tons. The Japa-
nese incorporated the Wake into their navy and renamed it the
Tatara Maru.

By 10 A.M. the military occupation of Shanghai had extended
over most of the city. As controller of Press Wireless, I urged
the correspondents to get their stories off as soon as possible,
knowing the Japanese would quickly seize all communications.
I followed my own advice by filing to the Daily Herald, Lon-
don, and also assisted some of the other correspondents who had
not yet arrived on the scene.

Press Wireless, a radio communication service devoted ex-
clusively to news messages, is owned by a group of leading news-
papers in the United States. All the stories telling of the occupa-
tion of the city whith got to the world's press went out over
this station, because the Japanese already had guards in all the
other cable and radio offices, and no messages of any kind could
be sent They had the city securely bottled up, excepting the
one "leak," which was the Press Wireless circuit to Manila and
San Francisco.

However, there was one other American radio station in
Shanghai, which the Japs did not get. It was located at the
American consulate and was used for official messages. An Amer-

358 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

icati marine was guarding the station when a squad of Japanese
soldiers arrived to take it over. When the Japs demanded admis-
sion, the marine barred the door and seizing a heavy iron bar he
completely demolished the set while the Japs banged at the door
with their rifle butts.

As soon as I could get away I hurjried to my own office, the
China Weekly Review, knowing well that it, and the China
Fress, in the same building, would be among the first newspapers
to receive the attention of the Japanese. My Chinese staff realized
this too, and was on the job before daylight, removing the type-
writers, the price of which had mounted to unbelievable heights
because of the embargo.

Before noon the Japanese army had occupied the building and
placed seals on all doors. I decided to return to my room at the
American Club to await developments, and I did not have long
to wait.

Shortly after ro o'clock a servant came running to my room,
greatly excited, and said that Japanese sailors were in the lobby
and had ordered everybody to leave the building in two hours.
Since the American Club served as the center for American com-
munity activities, such as the Chamber of Commerce and other
organizations, the enforced evacuation created a serious problem.

Many of the residents had lived there for years. Everyone
started packing furiously, but few had enough trunks and bags
to hold their belongings. This resulted in the loss of practically
all personal effects on the part of many, including myself.

Before noon, two fully armed Japanese sailors carrying their
rifles, with bayonets attached, slung over their shoulders, ap-
peared at my door and demanded admission. Both were drunk,
and their arms were full of bottles of beer looted from the club
bar. They made themselves at home and proceeded to consume
the beer, at the same time ordering me to hasten my departure.

The Japanese knew what they wanted in Shanghai, and pro-
ceeded to take it without delay. All properties belonging to the
British-Indian millionaire, Sir Victor Sassoon, including hotels,

HISTORY PUNCTUATED 359

offices, and apartment buildings, were seized, and the Japanese
announced that they had been confiscated. The North China
Daily News, leading British newspaper, which was almost as old
as the Settlement, was also closed and sealed.

Since the Japanese wanted to take over Shanghai as a "going
concern" they did not interfere with any of the public utilities
such as the American-owned Shanghai Power Company and
Shanghai Telephone Company, or the British-owned Shanghai
Water Works and the Tramway Company. They did, however,
seize all of the busses of the British Shanghai Omnibus Company.
There was also, at first, little interference with the personal
activities of American and British residents. However, one occa-
sionally saw a foreigner being marched along the street by a
squad of Japanese soldiers or sailors, presumably on the way to
some internment camp in the Hongkew section, which the Japs
had occupied in 1937. These scenes became commonplace after
December 20.

The American diplomatic and consular staffs were concen-
trated on two floors of the Metropole Hotel in the downtown
section for several days but later were moved to the Cathay
Mansion, a residence hotel which was owned by the Sassoon
interests. They remained there until they were repatriated on
the first trip of the exchange liner Gripsholm. The British em-
bassy and consular staffs were permitted to remain in their regular
consular quarters on the Bund, or at the Cathay Hotel. They
were repatriated about two months after the Americans.

Another British morning paper, the Shanghai Times, which
always had followed a pro-Japanese policy, became openly
Japanese and continued under the nominal editorship of the
owner, E. S. Nottingham, although the real authority was vested
in a Japanese army officer* The American afternoon paper, the
Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, was taken over and its
policy "reformed," C. V. Starr, the owner of the paper, was in
New York and the paper was in charge of the business manager,
George Bruce. Bruce continued the paper for several months
under the supervision of a Japanese army officer. Bruce, how-

360 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

ever, was later interned and died in a Japanese camp. According
to reports of other American internees, the Japanese intercepted
a note that Brace secretly sent to his wife. Brace was removed
to another camp for "questioning." He was detained for two
weeks and dropped dead shortly after he had returned to the
first camp.

As the Japanese had been in control of the Hongkew indus-
trial area, which included most of Shanghai's public utilities, since
1937, their occupation of the remainder of the International
Settlement put the entire city, except the French Concession, in
their hands, The composition of the municipal council, which
had included five Britons, five Chinese, two Americans and two
Japanese, continued J:o April, 1941, when a special election
approved a proposal to change the representation to three Britons,
three Americans, three Japanese, one German, one Swiss, one
Netherlander, and four Chinese. After Pearl Harbor the Japanese
ousted the Americans and Britons, and appointed Germans and
Italians in their places.

Thus the Japanese moved in on one of the world's largest
and richest cities, and the leading port on the continent of East
Asia. They made the best of their opportunities. Among the
confiscated properties were the foreign banks, including the
Shanghai branches of the American National City Bank of New
York, the Chase Bank, the British Hong Kong and Shanghai
Bank, and Chartered Bank of Australia and India.

The manager of the National City Bank, J. A. MacKay, was
interned and no transaction could be conducted without the
approval of two Japanese officers, both of whom had formerly
been employed in the New York office of the Yokohama Specie
Bank and were familiar with American banking practice.

No gold deposits (United States dollars or British pounds)
could be withdrawn, and only sufficient amounts could be taken
from Chinese dollar accounts to meet urgent payroll require-
ments. A similar situation prevailed at the British banks.

The Japanese announced that all foreign banks were to be

HISTORY PUNCTUATED 3<5i

liquidated, and none would ever be allowed to function in the
future. The effect of this situation on the economic life of the
city may well be imagined.

The large Chinese banks, such as the Central Bank, Bank of
China, and Bank of Communications, which were already oper-
ating in a restricted manner, were likewise taken over, and later
handed to the puppet Nanking Government. But the Japanese
continued to maintain their control.

The Central Bank was transformed into the Central Reserve
Bank and made the chief financial organ of the puppet Nanking
Government. Shortly after the occupation the puppet bank put
out a new note issue with which it bought up the notes previously
issued by the National Government at the rate of one Nanking
dollar note for two Chungking dollar notes.

However, all transactions with Japan had to be conducted
with so-called military yen notes printed in imitation of regular
Japanese currency, but containing no serial numbers. It appeared
to be the intention of the Japanese to repudiate this currency or
permit it to decline in value at some future date. The Japanese
had followed that practice in the Russo-Japanese War, which
was fought on Chinese soil in Manchuria; all Japanese purchases
in the field were made with so-called "military notes" which were
repudiated after the war, and later were bought up for a few
cents on the dollar and destroyed. In the present instance the
Japanese followed a similar procedure, as all purchases of Chinese
cotton, food, and other products were paid for with "military
yen," usually at the point of the bayonet.

The financial and currency situation at Shanghai, which had
greatly improved following the organization of the National
Government in 1927, became more complicated under Japanese
control In any financial enterprise of substantial size it became
necessary to use American currency or its equivalent at an estab-
lished rate of exchange, despite the fact that transactions in
American or British currencies were also outlawed. Chinese ex-
change shops, however, continued dealings in American cur-
rency despite the ban*

362 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

When I left Shanghai, in June, 1942, the new notes issued
by the Central Reserve Bank were down to about forty to the
American dollar on the "black exchange." Notes of the legitimate
Central Bank before Pearl Harbor had been stabilized at about
three to the American dollar. A friend of mine who was repatri-
ated on the second voyage of the Gripsholm, told me that he
had exchanged an American one hundred dollar note for sixteen
thousand dollars of puppet currency in the Shanghai black
market.

Late in 1942 the Japanese announced their intention of abol-
ishing the International Settlement Administration and turning
the Settlement over to the control of the puppet Wang Ching-
wei Government at Nanking. The Japanese also brought pres-
sure, through the Germans, on the Vichy Government and
forced the French to hand over their Concession, almost as old
as the International Settlement, to the Nanking puppet regime.
It used to be a common saying around Shanghai that the French
would be the last Europeans to "hand over" their Oriental pos-
sessions to the native peoples. "The soft-hearted Americans and
British might compromise, but never the French," was a common
remark. As a result of this sentiment much Anglo-American
property was turned over to the French for "protection." The
large modern Development Building, owned by Chinese inter-
ests, was transferred to a French company a few weeks before
Pearl Harbor. The building had been occupied for several years
by the American Consulate and United States Court for China,
and it was hoped to prevent Japanese seizure by transferring it
to a French (Vichy) corporation. But the Development Building
along with the American Consulate and Court and their properties
were among the first seized by the Japs on the first day of occu-
pation. The Japanese had lost any respect they may have held
for the French as a result of Vichy's "sell-out" of French Indo-
China to the Japs, who immediately set about converting it into
a base for further adventures into British territories to the south.

While the Japanese have eliminated the western "imperial-

HISTORY PUNCTUATED 363

ists" from their century-old control of Shanghai, and theoreti-
cally have handed the city over to the Nanking Government,
they have continued to maintain their military hold on the city
and have not permitted the Wang Ching-wei regime to function
within the municipal area. The final adjustment of the Shanghai
Question will provide one of the most serious of after-war prob-
lems, because of the extent of foreign holdings in the great
Chinese port. The total American investment at Shanghai prob-
ably approximated a quarter of a billion American dollars. Brit-
ish investments were much larger, as the British possessed more
industrial property. Since the extraterritorial system prevailed up
to and after the Japanese occupation, many of the larger Chinese
holdings in commercial and industrial property were incorpo-
rated under foreign flags. The unscrambling of these interests
and the settlement of claims for losses will occupy the attention
of an international commission for many years after peace has
been restored.

An American professor, Dr. William Crane Johnstone, Jr.,
once wrote a book * in which he devoted 3 14 pages to a solution
of the Shanghai Question which had worried China and the
western nations for more than a half century. After discussing
various methods of solving the problem, most of which Professor
Johnstone dismissed as impractical, he added as afterthought,
"Of course some nation might 'take' the foreign settlements."
That is exactly what has happened, but obviously it has not
permanently settled the Shanghai Question!

* "The Shanghai Problem," Stanford University Press, Stanford University
California, 1937*

XXXIV
Japanese "Efficiency"

TWO OR THREE DAYS after the Japanese occupation of Shanghai,
in December -of 1941, there appeared a notice on the bulletin
board of the Metropole Hotel, where I was staying, calling a
meeting of Americans in the assembly room of the hotel for the
purpose of "discussing problems incidental to the occupation."
The notice contained the name of the Japanese officer in charge
of the occupation. It struck me as strange that the Japanese
should call a meeting to "discuss" problems when they were in
undisputed military control of the city.

Only about two dozen Americans, including a few news-
papermen, turned up for the meeting. Our curiosity regarding
its object was soon satisfied, for aside from a few Japanese army
officers, chiefly from the army spokesman's office, the room was
filled with Japanese newspapermen and press photographers. No
sooner had the Japanese officer in charge called the meeting to
order than an American, owner of a small factory in the Hong-
kew district, was on his feet paying the Japanese fulsome praise
for their efficiency and forbearance in the occupation of the
Settlement. He even praised the Japanese for the consideration
they had displayed toward the members of the American Club,
who had been given only about two hours before they were
kicked out of their premises. I myself had only about fifteen or
twenty minutes to throw a few things into a suitcase and get out.
I had to abandon practically all of my clothing and numerous
pieces of carved ivory, and art treasures, including some rare
Mongolian and Tibetan rugs, pieces of brocade and jewelry I
had picked up on my newspaper travels in the Far East and in
Russia and had treasured for many years.

JAPANESE "EFFICIENCY 365

I listened in silence to the speech of my fellow countryman
as he praised the Japanese, even when he spread it on so thick
that most of us wondered as to his real objective. Was it possible
that he had "sold out" to the Japs in order to obtain protection
for his factory, or for some other reason? We wondered. Japa-
nese newspapermen present took copious notes on his address
and before he sat down he was photographed repeatedly; in fact
every American in the room was photographed.

After the Japanese chairman had called on others for their
views on the occupation, it became apparent that their purpose
in calling the meeting was to obtain complimentary statements
from Americans for use in their propaganda in Japan and abroad.
I naturally wondered what was in store for the thousands of
American citizens, civilians, and servicemen in Shanghai and
other ports of occupied China, the Philippines, and elsewhere in
the Far East, now at the mercy of the invaders. I was well aware
of the brutalities to which the Chinese had been subjected in
Manchuria in 193 1-32 and in China proper since 1937, but along
with other foreigners I probably thought "They can't do that
to us." 1 actually heard a prominent Englishman use that expres-
sion as he argued with a group of Japanese army officers who
were evicting him, along with a number of other well known
British residents, from the British Shanghai Club on the
Bund.

As the meeting in the Metropole Hotel broke up one of the
Japanese army officers recognized me and exclaimed, "Why,
Mr. Powell, are you still here? We thought you had run away
with Mr. WoodheadP' (HL G, W. Woodhead was a well known
elderly British editor and commentator employed as a columnist
on the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, who had gone into
hiding immediately following Pearl Harbor.) He allegedly sent
word to the Japanese that he would commit suicide if the Japa-
nese attempted to intern him. I replied to the Japanese officer,
whom I recognized as a member of the army spokesman's office,
"No, I'm still a newspaperman and have decided to stay and see
the end of the show I don't suppose you can do worse than

3 66 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

shoot me!" I soon discovered that the Japanese could do worse
than shoot people. They could starve and torture them to a
point where the victims would prefer death a thousand times to
the treatment they received in innumerable prisons, scattered
over the Far East, where Americans and Britons have been con-
fined since Pearl Harbor.

As I think back over my experiences in the days immediately
following the Japanese occupation, when I was still at liberty,
the outstanding events and incidents which remain in my mind
are a succession of queues in which I seemed to spend most of
the daylight hours. First, there was the matter of money. I dis-
covered that I had only a few dollars in my pocket, so I walked
around to the Shanghai office of the National City Bank of New
York, where I kept my personal and business accounts. As I
neared the vicinity of the bank, I discovered that a considerable
portion of the foreign and Chinese communities apparently had
a similar idea, for a line had formed which not only extended
around the block but overlapped. The line was made up not only
of Americans, but of large numbers of other foreign residents,
particularly Russians, Scandinavians, Portuguese, Jewish refu-
gees and Chinese, all of whom thought that an American bank
offered better protection than banks of other nationalities.

It took me about five hours to reach the doors through which
depositors were admitted in groups of a dozen or so. After I
finally was admitted to the private office I found the three Amer-
ican executives of the bank, MacKay, Reid, and Bates, standing
with their hands in their pockets looking on more or less help-
lessly while two Japanese sat at the desk with the bank's books
opened before them. One of the American officers whispered to
me that both of the Japanese had been trained in the New York
office of the Yokohama Specie Bank and "understood" Amer-
ican banking practice. They seemed to understand their job so
well that I suspected they had been "planted" in New York for
the purpose of "studying" the National City Bank. One of the
Japanese explained to me that they were permitting all firms

JAPANESE "EFFICIENCY" 367

which employed Chinese labor to withdraw a certain percentage
of their company deposits "in order to keep the workmen off
the streets." The Japanese army apparently desired to avoid any
disruption of business which might fill the streets with hungry,
rioting laborers. Large employers of Chinese labor were told to
advise their Chinese staffs to "go home" to the country districts.
This applied to all concerns which were forced to close down
or to curtail their activities because of the Japanese occupation.
The public utilities, including the electric light and power plant,
water works and telephone system, were continued under Jap-
anese supervision, of course.

The Japanese "liquidators" at the bank explained that no
deposits in United States dollars could be withdrawn, which
caused serious embarrassment, as most depositors had converted
their savings into United States dollars in order to avoid losses
resulting from the rapid depreciation of Chinese currency. Later
the Japanese and the Nanking puppet administration announced
that the national Chinese currency would be outlawed after a
certain date, and replaced by new currency issued by the puppet
central bank, the rate of exchange of old for new currency being
two for one. It wasn't long, however, before the new puppet
currency, printed in Japan to imitate the old national currency,
had also slumped to forty for one American dollar.

I had ordered a suit of clothes from a Russian tailor just before
the Japanese occupation. The agreed price was $150 in Chinese
currency, or about $50 in United States money. When I obtained
the suit after being released from prison five months later, just
before the sailing of the first exchange ship, the price had jumped
to fz,ooo. In the months following Pearl Harbor Shanghai passed
through a period of currency inflation which was reminiscent of
conditions in the large German cities following World War I.
Mother Helen, the head Franciscan nurse at the municipal hos-
pital, where I was a patient following my release from the Japa-
nese internment camp, told me that the prices for hospital equip-
ment had risen to fantastic figures. For example, a gallon of
rubbing alcohol cost $600; iodine, so long as it was obtainable,

368 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

cost $1,000 an ounce; sulfa drugs disappeared completely and
were unobtainable at any price.

The most serious problem developed in connection with sup-
plies of blood for transfusions. The Fourth Regiment United
States Marines, which had been stationed in Shanghai for more
than a dozen years, had constituted Shanghai's and China's almost
sole source of supply of healthy blood. Hospitals in Shanghai
and other coastal ports and even at interior points accessible to
airplanes were accustomed to applying to the Marine Corps for
supplies of blood. A number of marines had volunteered to
supply blood at a nominal charge of $50 Chinese, or about $15
in United States currency. The donors had been examined as
to health and blood-count, and constituted an invaluable "blood
bank'* for the community.

But when the situation became critical and the Fourth Regi-
ment was transferred to Manila (later to fight at Bataan and
Corregidor), Shanghai was left without any source of supply
for blood transfusions. I was one of the first to suffer from this
situation, as it was necessary for me to have a blood transfusion
immediately after my removal from the Japanese prison camp
to the municipal hospital. My doctor finally found an American
who was willing to supply me with a quantity of his blood. Two
weeks later, however, when I required a second transfusion, the
American could not be found. My physician, Dr. W. H. Gar-
diner, made a canvass of the other doctors and finally found an
Englishman who was willing to volunteer. The third time it was
a Russian, and his blood caused a violent reaction in my veins.
My fourth and last transfusion before leaving the Shanghai hos-
pital was supplied by a Chinese, giving me the impression that
I probably am the only person entitled to claim blood-relation-
ship to the United Nations, as I actually have samples of Amer-
ican, British, Russian, and Chinese blood in my veins. My physi-
cians in New York, Dr. Frank L. Meleney and Dr. Jerome P.
Webster, gave me two further transfusions at the Presbyterian
Hospital upon my arrival in New York; both came from the

JAPANESE "EFFICIENCY 9 369

/arge bank maintained at the hospital, which Dr. Meleney assured
me was strictly "anonymous" from the standpoint of race or
nationality, as scientific tests have shown that it is all the same.
The problem of establishing blood banks in China is a serious
one, due first to traditional Chinese prejudice against parting
with blood, which they believe cannot be replaced. Secondly,
the Chinese have been so impoverished physically, as a result of
the long war, lack of health-building food, and prevalence of
disease, particularly malaria and intestinal ailments, that it is diffi-
cult to find individuals sufficiently healthy to supply blood.
Shanghai doctors found that a similar weakened situation pre-
vailed among the Jewish refugees who had served long terms in
Nazi internment camps in Hitler's Europe before they were sent
to Shanghai and forced to undergo further privations at the
hands of To jo's emissaries.

XXXV
Horrors of Bridge House

MY FIRST CONTACT WITH the notorious Japanese Bridge House
Prison was on December 20, 1941, following the occupation of
Shanghai on December 8. The barbarities to which the Amer-
icans, Britons and Chinese were subjected in that prison were
only a repetition of Japan's inhumane treatment of the Chinese
and other Oriental peoples with whom they previously had
come in contact. Like the Nazis in Europe, the Japanese regarded
themselves as a "master race," to do with other peoples as
they wished.

Early in the morning of December 20, six or seven gendar-
merie officers in civilian clothes came to my room at the Metro-
pole Hotel in Shanghai and informed me they had instructions
to search the room. The spokesman referred to the fact that I
was editor of the China Weekly Review and was a director of
the China Press, both of which had been sealed on December 8.

They seized all papers, carbon copies of letters and other
records which I had in my room. Since my offices had been sealed
I had not been permitted to visit them, but I was informed that
the gendarmes had repeatedly entered the building and removed
various files and office records, and even the electric clock on
the wall

After they had searched my room one of the men told me I
would have to accompany them to their headquarters for ques-
tioning. We went downstairs, where a motor car was waiting.
One of the men suddenly remembered to ask me whether I had
a box in the hotel safe. I told them I had one, containing only a
small sum in Chinese money. After counting the money, the

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 371

gendarme said, "We are not interested in money, only letters
and papers."

I entered their car, and the officers drove across Szechwan
Road Bridge and into the compound of the Bridge House Apart-
ments, where I was taken to the third floor and introduced to
the gendarme in charge. This was in the Hongkew section, and
while located only two blocks from the central post office, the
existence of the prison was not suspected by the foreigners.
While I was being questioned a number of other foreigners who
had been picked up that morning were brought in. The officers
asked me to remove all articles from my pockets and place them
on the table. The articles were put in an official envelope and
labeled with my name. I was not permitted to have more than
one handkerchief, and they even took away my suspenders and
garters.

One of the men then produced a printed form and asked me
a number of questions concerning nationality, place and date of
my birth, and other personal matters. When this statement was
completed I was asked to sign and fingerprint it.

I was then taken downstairs to the ground floor and into a
section of the building which had been constructed for shops
but later converted into a sort of stockade for prisoners. As my
eyes became accustomed to the darkness I could see long rows
of cells or stockades and could hear a dim murmur of voices.
I was first taken to an officer sitting behind a rough desk in the
corner. He, apparently, was the chief jailer, as the wall alongside
his desk was covered with lists written in Chinese characters
and also a considerable number of names in English, each on a
little wooden tag; the tags were attached to metal pegs driven
in the wall. Also there was a heavy metal ring on which were
suspended a large number of keys, ranging from the small "Yale"
type to large, ominous ones six or eight inches long. The gen-
darme who accompanied me opened one of the doors. It was
double-locked and barred, and resembled a Hollywood prop-
erty set. I was shoved into one of the cells. There was a hole
about sk inches square in the center of the door, through which

372 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the guards pushed the food. Occasionally when a prisoner had
violated the rules the guards would order the man to come to
the door and the guard would drive his fist through the hole
and strike him in the face. If the prisoner was too slow in walk-
ing up to be struck, the guard would open the door, drag the
man out into the corridor, and beat him with a club.

The room was already crowded to suffocation and there
was no place to sit, even on the floor. Finally an American,
Rudolph Mayer, a brother of the Hollywood movie magnate,
who had been imprisoned some two weeks earlier, recognized
me and asked me to join him. I made my way through the
crowd to the corner where Mayer was sitting on the floor. He
asked one or two of the Chinese prisoners sitting next him to
move over to make room for me, and as a result I got a fairly
comfortable seat in the corner of the room. I say "comfortable"
because I could lean against the wall, and that was far better
than sitting upright in the middle of the room.

Mayer told me he had saved that place because a Korean
had died there of blood poisoning the night before. The Korean
had been jabbed in the leg by a Japanese bayonet, and had
been permitted to die in great agony. This did not increase my
peace of mind, but I was nevertheless glad to get a corner place,
even though it smelled to high heaven. Mayer told me he never
was able to find out why the Japanese had arrested him, unless
it was their intention to blackmail his wealthy brother in Holly-
wood.

The room or cell which we occupied was about eighteen
feet long and twelve feet wide and could accommodate twenty
to twenty-five persons sitting in rows on the floor, but for sev-
eral days after my arrival there were more than forty prisoners
in the room. For several nights it was necessary for many pris-
oners to stand up most of the night.

Events had occurred so rapidly that morning that my head
was in a whirl. It was not long before a gendarme appeared at
the door and called my name. The door was unlocked, with a

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 373

great clatter of keys and bars, and I was told to accompany the
man upstairs. Here I had my first experience with a gendarme
examination.

I was told to write approximate dates of the entire history
of my life, with special emphasis on what I had done since arriv-
ing in China in the spring of 1917. I do not know how many
times this was repeated, but I believe I was told to write out
my personal history at least a dozen times. The examiner then
read it over laboriously, translated it into Japanese, and pro-
ceeded to question me on various points mentioned in the
memorandum.

The man who questioned me on most occasions was named
Lieutenant Yamamoto. His knowledge of English was not per-
fect, and he used an interpreter who was little better equipped.
Later another interpreter was brought in, a man who said he
had lived in San Francisco many years and had a wife and child
still living there.

The questioning, which extended from December 20 through
January to February 26, followed a general pattern and seem-
ingly was designed to link me with American and British intel-
ligence services. Once I was flatly accused of receiving large
sums from the office of Major G. A, Williams, United States
naval attache, stationed at Shanghai. The examiner told me they
had seized all of Major Williams's private papers and had the
proof despite my denials. I told them I frequently talked to
Major Williams about particular developments in the Chinese
and Far Eastern situation, but it always was in the course of
newspaper work and on no occasion had I received so much
as a penny for my services.

Once the examiner told me they had found a record in the
Majors office listing my name with those of Morris Harris of
the Associated Press and Fred Oppcr and H. G. W. Woodhead
of the Evemng Post, as being on the Major's payroll Several
times they tried also to link me up with British intelligence, but
since I did not even know the names of the persons in charge
they finally gave this up.

374 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

They questioned me for several days about my trip to
Chusan Island in the summer of 1937. On returning to Shanghai
after that trip I had written an article suggesting the possibility
that the Japanese were planning to occupy the island prelim-
inary to naval operations along the coast between Shanghai and
Hong Kong. Since the Japanese navy did this a few months
later, the Japanese gendarmerie officer insisted this constituted
definite proof of "espionage" activities directed against the
Japanese navy. Chusan Island, south of Shanghai, was later used
by the Japanese as a base for their invasion activities along the
China coast to the south of Shanghai.

I imagine most of the American and British newspapermen
were subjected to the same line of questioning, as the Japanese
suspect all foreign newspapermen, particularly correspondents,
of espionage activities on behalf of their home governments.
Japanese gendarmerie officers who hang around the large hotels
in Tokyo and other large Japanese cities for the purpose of
spying on foreign residents and tourists always carry cards
indicating they are connected with some newspaper.

All my statements were taken down by the chief examiner,
in Japanese, on large sheets of Japanese ruled paper. These
sheets were then perforated and folded into a sort of book,
and I was asked to sign and fingerprint the last page. I always
asked the examiner to give me a summary of the material con-
tained in the manuscript, and on several occasions caught him
in deliberate falsification.

It occurred to me that these statements, which probably
filled half a dozen books, could easily be altered because it was
possible to change or substitute pages and merely attach the last
sheet which contained my signature and thumbprint,

I had no complaint of my treatment while undergoing ques-
tioning, except the wear and tear on my nerves. Moreover, I
managed to keep my temper, except once or twice when I
became exasperated at some of the seemingly nonsensical ques-
tions which they fired at me.

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 375

I once saw a big brutal gendarmerie officer with heavy thick
hands slap a Chinese woman prisoner until her eyes were swollen
shut and her face so inflamed that she was unrecognizable. They
were trying to force her to disclose the whereabouts of her
husband, a college professor whom they wanted on espionage
charges. The Chinese woman refused to tell them where her
husband was hiding, although she was subjected to the daily
slappings until she became too weak to leave the cell, and lay
weeping all day long on the floor.

The examiner produced a large number of copies of back
issues of the China Weekly Review, extending over a period of
several years, and asked me about certain articles or paragraphs
which had been underscored. In most instances I was able to
explain the circumstances and background of the articles.

There was an amusing development when the Japanese pro-
duced a recent copy of the Review which contained a brief
article referring to the wholesale theft of motor cars in Shanghai.
The article said the stolen cars were being turned over to the
Japanese army authorities, who were at that time planning their
campaign into French Indo-China. They wanted to know where
I had obtained this information, so I told them it came from
the police and the insurance companies, but I refused to give
any names. I had a special interest in the subject, as the gangsters
had also stolen my car.

Another article my inquisitors brought forward was one
which had been reprinted from the New York Herald Tribune,
the Nation, and Asia Magazine. It was written originally by
Wilfrid Fleisher, former editor of the Japan Advertiser in
Tokyo, and contained a reference to the plot of an army officer
in Tokyo to overthrow the Emperor and establish a fascist
dictatorship. They insisted that this article was disrespectful to
the Emperor. My attention had been called to the same fact by
the Japanese consulate some time previously, and as a result I
had printed a statement that there was no intention to insult the
Son of Heaven. This apparently did not satisfy them, as the
subject was brought up several times.

376 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

They also dug up a further article which we had reprinted
from a Chinese magazine in 1932, nine years previously, which
referred to the "Emperor" Pu-yi of Manchukuo as a "puppet
of a puppet." The article said that Pu-yi was a puppet of
Hirohito, the Son of Heaven, who in turn was the puppet of
the Japanese army general staff. My inquisitor insisted this
article was also disrespectful of the Japanese Emperor. I called
his attention to the fact that the article was nearly ten years old
and had appeared in connection with Chinese comment on the
Manchurian crisis. The explanation did not satisfy him, how-
ever, because of all the crimes classified under the general head-
ing of "dangerous thoughts" in Japan, the worst that an editor
can commit is to say something which the police censors can
interpret as "disrespectful of the Son of Heaven." Large num-
bers of police censors are employed in every city for the sole
purpose of watching the newspapers, foreign as well as native,
for "disrespectful" references to Hirohito or the royal family.
Had the Japanese succeeded in their program to "dictate peace
in the White House," hundreds of American editors and car-
toonists would have had a difficult time, as the Japs have long
memories and their intelligence files are very complete.

Under Japanese military control of Hongkew since 1937,
the existence of Bridge House Prison had been kept a profound
secret. As there were a large number of Chinese prisoners, we
realized at once that many Chinese who had disappeared from
the International Settlement had been thrown into jail here.
Several of the Chinese told us that they had been here for many
months, so long, in fact, that they did not remember the cause
of their incarceration. Many of the Chinese prisoners were boys
not over fifteen years of age, probably high school students.
It was rumored that Russians in the Settlement had been con-
fined here also.

Bridge House Prison consisted of about fifteen cells which
had been built inside the main building and in most cases were
open only on one side, which was inclosed by heavy wooden

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 377

bars six inches in diameter and set about two inches apart. 1
must have counted the bars a thousand times during my stay in
Cell No. 5, which had been still further congested by the addi-
tion of some twelve more foreigners. These were mainly Britons
but included in the group was Victor Keen, correspondent for
the New York Herald Tribune, who was brought in shortly
following my incarceration.

Many of the foreigners in the cells were Britons, including
several well known businessmen, one being head of the China
agency for Dodge cars and trucks. Another, named Ellis Hayim,
was president of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Another elderly
man, named Brister, was connected with the British Ministry of
Economic Warfare. A young man, only about twenty years
old, told me he had been a member of the band of one of the
British regiments previously stationed in Shanghai. Ellis Hayim
and his wife, who was also imprisoned, were rated among
Shanghai's leading socialites. He told me that the Japanese gen-
darme officer who questioned him and his wife was chiefly
interested in obtaining information about the guests who at-
tended certain dinner parties which Mr. and Mrs. Hayim had
given in honor of Admiral Glassford and Admiral Hart. The
Japanese also displayed great curiosity about the conversation
at other dinner parties. In Japan the police always come around
and quiz the servants about the guests who attend dinner par-
ties given by foreign residents.

Another British prisoner was Bill Gande, head of a wholesale
liquor house, whom the Japanese also accused of "espionage"
and finally sentenced to jail for eight years on this charge.
Gande had always taken a prominent part in the foreign special
police and it probably was in this connection that the Japs sus-
pected him of "espionage designed to undermine tEe Japanese
Empire."

I learned later, on the exchange ship bound for home, that
other American newspapermen, and a number of American
businessmen and missionaries, had been confined in another part
of Bridge House at the same time I was there. Among the busi-

378 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

nessmen were the managers of the National City Bank, Socony
Vacuum Oil Company, and the Singer Sewing Machine Com-
pany. Later, practically all of the Americans in the city, some
2,500 in number, were interned, but not in Bridge House.

The Japanese, in their haste to even scores with all the Amer-
icans and Britons against whom they had grudges, made many
ludicrous mistakes. One day a half dozen gendarmes dragged
into our cell an infuriated Englishman with his coat and trousers
badly torn, indicating that he had put up a fight against arrest.
After he became somewhat composed, I moved over to a place
beside him and asked him what had happened. He told me he
was an engineer employed by the Shanghai Power Company,
and was at a loss to understand why he was arrested. After he
had come back from his first session with the inquisitors up-
stairs, I noticed he had a puzzled look on his face. When the
sentry had walked to the end of the corridor the Englishman
turned to me and said, "I wonder what these bloody blighters
want I never wrote anything about the Japs in my life." I
then realized why the Japs had grabbed the engineer, whose
name was W. R. Davies. They had mistaken him for R. W.
Davis, the managing director of the senior British newspaper,
North China Daily News. The situation struck us as having
amusing elements, as R. W. Davis, the newspaper publisher, was
in Hong Kong. However, W. R. Davies didn't consider it
amusing, and he was still threatening to murder some "bloody"
Jap when the gendarmes discovered their mistake and released
him. Up to that time the Japanese had avoided arresting anyone
who was connected with any public utility, as they wanted to
keep the city services operating.

A Spanish woman, wife of a banker in Manila, was held in
our cell for several weeks on suspicion that she had cooperated
with a foreign business firm in purchasing and monopolizing
all available supplies of quinine in Shanghai. The woman de-
clared she knew nothing about the deal

Many foreign businessmen who had dealings with the Jap-

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 379

anese found themselves in serious trouble after the outbreak of
war, as they were unable to make deliveries of the merchandise
promised. Money they had received from the Japanese as ad-
vance or bargain payments had been remitted abroad, and
"frozen," and hence could not be returned to the original Jap-
anese purchasers. In the final months and weeks before Pearl
Harbor the Japanese had embarked on a mad buying spree in
Shanghai, grabbing up all available stocks of foods, medicines,
gasoline, cigarettes, shoe leather, and what not. After Pearl
Harbor they simply commandeered everything, including every
motor car and truck in the city. After President Roosevelt
announced the embargo on gasoline shipments to Japan, the
Japs bought enormous quantities which they stored in secret
underground storage tanks at Shanghai. Many foreign business-
men who had cooperated with the Japs, but couldn't make de-
liveries after the outbreak of war, found themselves in the
Japanese internment camps.

Aside from the male foreigners, there were three foreign
women, one British, one Spanish, and the other an unfortunate
White Russian girl who shortly became hysterical. We thought
her condition to be due to the fact that she had been deprived
of her daily supply of heroin, for which many poor Russians
possessed an appetite which the Japanese were glad to satisfy at
very low prices. There were also two or three Chinese women
in the cell for a part of the time. Once a Chinese man was
brought in with his little three-year-old son. The little boy
cried all night, his wails being heard throughout the prison.

Although I was impressed particularly by the congested
condition of the cell, I soon discovered that there were other
elements of even greater seriousness. There were no facilities
for washing, and the toilet equipment consisted of a roughs box
in the corner which was open to the room and was cleaned out
in the mornings by Chinese prisoners who were pressed into
service*

The women prisoners had to use the same toilet facilities as
the men, so the foreign men would stand with their backs to the

380 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

toilet, forming a screen for the women. Finally, as a result of
demands by everybody in the cell, the women were permitted
to go to a toilet on an upstairs floor.

Since I had been informed I was being taken to the Bridge
House only for questioning, I wore only a light overcoat and
did not think of bringing along a blanket. The building was
entirely without heat. At 9 P.M., however, the guard brought
into the cell a large bundle of blankets, which created a near
riot as the prisoners fought each other for possession of the
heavier coverings.

I found the prisoners had formed groups of two to six, and
by snuggling close together they were able to cover themselves
with one blanket. We never removed our clothing, as we would
have frozen.

There were vermin of all types, the worst being the body
louse, or "cootie." The place was alive with them, and since the
prisoners included several persons who were dangerously ill, we
naturally expected everyone to die of some kind of epidemic,
particularly typhus, which was prevalent. A friend who sus-
pected the louse situation sent me a jar of ointment. The gen-
darme guard refused to permit it to be brought inside my cell
until I had demonstrated by tasting it that it was not poison or
dope. I learned afterward that the ointment was sent to me by
Judge Milton J. Helmick of the United States Court, and I will
never cease thanking him as long as I live. It probably was the
first modern instance of a judge sending a prisoner a jar of
ointment. *i l

The gendarmes maintained a medical service of sorts among
the prisoners. It usually consisted of an occasional visit by a
Japanese woman nurse, accompanied by two petty officers.
Anyone with a fever or any type of ailment got aspirin. Any
who had boils, an epidemic of which swept the place, were
treated with a red liquid resembling mercurochrome, of which
the Japanese seemed to have a liberal supply.

I had a badly infected finger which swelled to about twice
normal size. After about two weeks of begging for medical
treatment, I was taken upstairs to the dispensary, where the

HORRORS OF BRIDGE HOUSE 381

Japanese medical assistant, without administration of an anes-
thetic, literally trimmed all the skin off my finger with his
scissors. Japanese soldiers stood about the room and appeared to
enjoy my grimaces as the doctor performed the operation.

The worst phase of the daily visit of the Japanese nurse and
her assistants was the treatment in the cell of several venereal
cases among the Chinese prisoners. Since these cases had been
neglected in some instances for many weeks or even months,
the men were in a desperate condition.

The place was also infected with rats. The Japanese guards
never interfered with them except to stamp their feet when the
rodents became too bold in running about the corridors. One
night a rat stuck its head out of a knot-hole in the partition
next to my head and tugged at a strand of my hair which it
apparently wanted for a nest.

I had not been in prison many days before I began to have
severe pain in my feet, particularly the bones in my heels. As
there was at that time no external indication of the ailment, the
Japanese doctor just laughed at me when I told him that the
pain was so severe I could scarcely put on my shoes. All pris-
oners were deprived of their shoes, which were piled in the
narrow hallway outside. Whenever anyone was removed from
the cell for questioning or for any other purpose there was a
mad scramble for the right shoes. We had to lie with our bare
feet on the cold floor, and they usually would be blue by
morning. Our stockings had long since worn to shreds.

Only once did I succeed in getting the Japanese nurse to
paint my feet with iodine, and this had little or no effect on
the pain, which increased day by day. Several other prisoners
also complained of pains in their feet, and many of the Chinese
had large sores on their feet and legs. I did not know then that
this was due to malnutrition caused by the poor quality of the
food we received, plus the fact that we frequently were com-
pelled for long periods to sit on our feet "Japanese style," which
retarded the circulation.

Our food was of such a low order that no Japanese coolie

382 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

would have looked at it. In the morning there was a bowl of
rice, which was fairly palatable because it was warm. Noon
and evening meals consisted of a bowl of rice, which few of
the foreigners could eat. It was stone cold, usually contained
three dried herring heads, and apparently was prepared once a
week and left standing in the hallway or courtyard.

Very few of us could eat this mess, so we made a deal with
some of the Chinese boy prisoners whereby in exchange for our
rice they agreed to search out the cooties in our undergarments*
every day. It wasn't long before the Chinese boys had organized
a lottery based on the number of cooties found in the various
undershirts of the foreign prisoners.

This arrangement proved satisfactory except that it left us
with only one bowl of rice a day, obviously not enough to keep
body and soul together. This was the cause of much of the
illness which I later learned was beriberi.

Thanks to efforts of friends outside, we were finally able to
obtain limited quantities of foreign food, chiefly sandwiches,
The Japanese refused to let any canned food come into the
building, but since our friends outside did not know this they
continued to send tins of meat, fish, and fruit, which were
consumed by our guards. Our distress was due, principally, to
the lack of meat and fresh vegetables.

It was always difficult to eat the things which were sent in,
because of the starving Chinese prisoners who sat watching us.
Many times I cut my sandwiches into a dozen pieces and passed
them around. On one or two occasions there were serious riots
over food because the Japanese would not allow the Chinese to
receive anything from friends outside.

Perhaps our most exasperating experience was on Christmas
Eve, when friends sent us a roasted turkey. We only managed
to get the scraps in our cell, and when we complained to the
officer he came back with the excuse that they could not permit
bones to be taken into the cells, as the prisoners might use them
as weapons against each other or the guards.

XXXVI
4 Dangerous Thoughts'

PRISONERS IN BRIDGE HOUSE were not permitted to talk to
each other, were supplied with no reading matter, and were
compelled to sit on the floor closely packed in rows, which
facilitated counting when there was a change of guards, which
was every four hours. Also we had to sit usually with our heads
bowed, facing in the direction of Tokyo as a sign of our sub-
mission to Hirohito, Son of Heaven, Frequently Chinese pris-
oners who were caught talking were ordered to stand at the
front of the cell, where they were beaten about the head by
guards.

The only foreigner I knew of who was treated in this way
was a Russian prisoner, who could speak neither English, Jap-
anese, nor Chinese. He was severely beaten, allegedly because
he failed to understand an order. The Russian's name was
Chesnakoff ; he was a young Soviet citizen, who had come to
Shanghai on a ship from Vladivostok. The Japanese accused
ChcsnakofF of spying on some of their military activities in the
Shanghai district.

Once I received a thermos bottle of tea from a friend on the
outside. I had only begun to drink the tea when the guard came
up and demanded I return the empty bottle. Quickly I gulped
down all that I could and passed the bottle to some of my
Chinese cell-mates. When I took the bottle to the front of the
cell and passed it to the guard he was infuriated and ordered
me to step up close to the hole in the door which was used for
passing in food and for the return of empty dishes. He reached
in and gave me a strong slap on the face.

This was the only time I was ever physically molested by

383

384 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

one of the guards. However, in other ways the foreign prisoners
were usually subjected to the same treatment as the Chinese
prisoners; that is, they were compelled to sit on the floor with
their knees drawn up tightly in front of them. All prisoners
were lined up and searched almost daily, and woe to anyone
found in possession of so much as a piece of string or a piece of
paper. There was dismay when the searchers found a small nail
file, the only one in the prison, which everybody had been
using in secret when the guard's back was turned.

When some of the prisoners had violated the regulations
and the guards were unable to find the culprits, they compelled
all of us to sit on our feet in Japanese fashion with our heads
lowered. As we were always forced to face toward Tokyo
during this operation, it became known as the "New Order
Kneeling Posture."

Several times in my cell prisoners were compelled to sit on
their feet as long as six or eight hours and, as a result, were not
able to walk for several days.

The beating of Chinese prisoners by the guards was an
almost continuous procedure. All through the night we would
hear screams, indicating that some poor devil was being pun-
ished for a real or fancied violation of the rules.

In one case the guards caught a Chinese smoking a cigarette
which had been smuggled into the cell. He was beaten to a
pulp, and was not able to stand for more than a week. Later he
developed beriberi and died in my cell shortly after the Japanese
doctor had given him a hypodermic. We suspected the hypo
had contained poison.

Another time a Chinese prisoner found with money in his
possession was removed at midnight to the corridor and beaten
over the head and face with a club. From curiosity I counted
the blows, with a British prisoner lying beside me. There were
eighty-five of them before the victim ceased screaming and
-lapsed into insensibility. When the guard had finished there
was only about a foot of the former yard-long club remaining

"DANGEROUS THOUGHTS" 385

in his hands, the rest of it having been splintered away. The
guards kept a pile of these cudgels handy in the corridor. They
were rough pieces of one-inch board about four inches wide
and about three feet long.

A significant element in the prison situation both at Bridge
House and Kiangwan Prison, where I was sent later, was the
presence of a considerable number of Japanese prisoners. These
consisted of young men, employees of American and British
firms, from whom the gendarmes were trying to obtain infor-
mation regarding the activities of the foreigners. One of these
Japanese prisoners in my cell, a young man named Ono, had
been employed for several years by the Texas Oil Company
and had made several trips to Port Arthur, Texas, on oil tankers.
He did not hesitate to express his hatred of the Japanese gen-
darmerie officers, whom he always referred to contemptuously
as the "big shots upstairs." The Japanese also threw into our
cell a number of Japanese soldiers charged with drunkenness
while on duty. . : < -'!^ .!;>

The Chinese prisoners who fraternized with the Japanese
soldiers told us that the real reason for their imprisonment was
their objection to being sent to Malaya, where fighting was then
in progress. Later when I was taken to the Kiangwan prison I
saw hundreds of Japanese prisoners, military as well as civilians,
who were being held on charges of harboring "dangerous
thoughts." I was told by a foreign newspaperman in Japan that
there were more than 50,000 political prisoners of this class in
Japanese jails at the time of the Manchurian occupation in 193 1-
32. Later they were released to join the army for further adven-
tures to the south.

I talked to many of these prisoners and found their regard
for the gendarmes was little higher than my own. Once a gen-
darme officer beat a Japanese soldier into insensibility in the cell
adjoining mine because the soldier had called him the one pro-
fane word in the Japanese language, "bakka," which stands for
anything from "fool" to the equivalent of some of the most
profane epithets in the English language.

386 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

The Japanese gendarmerie, profoundly secret in its organiza-
tion, corresponds in many respects to the German Gestapo. I
think it is safe to say that it contains all the criminal elements in
the military establishment. Their power appeared unlimited, and
they often boasted they could arrest even high Japanese military
officers, but I never heard of this happening. In Japan the gen-
darmerie is of all branches of the military establishment the most
hated and feared by the civilian public.

One night the Japanese gendarmes brought in a new pris-
oner, an aged Britisher, so weak he could hardly stand. They
pushed him into the corner alongside me, and I saw he was in
severe pain. He was suffering from several boils on his neck;
they had become so infected and swollen, because of lack of
medical attention, that his head was pressed over against his
shoulder. He grew worse and about midnight he nudged me and
asked me if I kne^v a prayer. He said he had been born in a
Catholic home, but had drifted away from the faith. "I think I
am going to die," he said. We repeated the Lord's Prayer to-
gether, and as he grew calmer, he told me his life history. He
was born in England and enlisted in the British army as a youth
to serve in India. He was stationed in the Punjab for seventeen
years, spending most of the time in the saddle. After retirement
he came to Shanghai, where he served as head of the C. I. D.
(Criminal Investigation Department) in the municipal police,
later retiring to form a private detective agency. His name was
Captain E. G. Clarke. He had married an Indian woman who
brought him food in the prison every day. Their home was in
the country and she rode a bicycle a distance of twenty miles in
order to bring the food. The Japs seized Clarke after Pearl
Harbor, and charged him with the usual "crime," espionage
activities against Japan. He was thrown into a dirty cell in
another part of Bridge House and left there to die of malnutri-
tion and exposure.

I never did learn why he was transferred to my cell, but a
few days later when I was taken upstairs for another session

"DANGEROUS THOUGHTS" 387

with Lieutenant Yamamoto, my official inquisitor, I told him of
Captain Clarke's serious condition, that he was likely to die
unless he was sent to a hospital. Yamamoto made a gesture with
the edge of his hand across his throat, indicating that he thought
Clarke should have his head cut off, but I could see that my
words had impressed him. Late that night there was a commo-
tion in the courtyard; an ambulance had arrived to take Captain
Clarke to the municipal hospital. I learned several weeks later,
just before I left Shanghai on the exchange ship, that Captain
Clarke was recovering. Before leaving the prison that night he
gave me his blanket, the most valuable article in the cold prison.

On February 26 a group of gendarme officers came to the
prison cells and read the names of eight foreigners, including
myself, who were told to go to the gendarmerie office. There
we were informed that we were to be taken to another prison,
at Kiangwan, where we would be subjected to a court-martial
on a charge of espionage. The group included six Britons, the
Russian Chesnakoff, and myself.

Each was given a shave and a haircut, and then we were
taken in an open truck to Kiangwan, where a new prison had
been built beside a main highway, near the new Chinese Civic
Center Headquarters which the Japanese army had taken over.
This prison consisted of solitary cells, each about five feet wide
and ten feet long, entered by a door about four feet high. The
door had a slot at the bottom through which food was passed
to the prisoner.

There was a small window six feet above the floor. In the
corner was the usual toilet, a box which was cleaned out once
a week. The floors were wood, the walls fresh wet cement.
Since the building was not heated, it became unbearably cold
at night

Every morning we were removed from the cells and taken
across the courtyard to a wash-house where each man was pro-
vided with a toothbrush and told to use it and wash. We were
not permitted to take the toothbrushes to our cells but had to

388 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

hang them on hooks, each labeled with our respective names-
in Japanese which none of us could read. After the first day
the toothbrushes became hopelessly mixed and we lost our en-
thusiasm for this phase of the morning exercise. We were
warned not to talk.

This was the only time the prisoners ever got together,
except at rare intervals when we were permitted to take exer-
cise in the courtyard under supervision of a military officer in
uniform. We were still permitted no reading matter. Also, we
were not permitted to have any of the medicines our friends
had sent us at Bridge House and which the guards had permitted
us to bring along.

The condition of my feet, which had pained me severely at
Bridge House Prison, rapidly became worse, due, I suppose, to
the freezing weather which prevailed all through March, when
Shanghai often has its coldest weather of the year.

I frequently complained and asked that a doctor be sent to
examine me, but this had little effect until my feet had swollen
to about twice their normal size and turned purple, making it
impossible for me to put on my shoes and leave my cell.

Meanwhile my weight had dropped from about 145 pounds
when I entered Bridge House Prison to about 70 or 75 pounds,
I was no longer able to stand, due to weakness and the condi-
tion of my feet.

One of the British prisoners also complained about pain in
his feet, and another Briton, Mr. Gande, had so many boils on
his neck that he could not lift up his head.

One day while I was still able to go out in the courtyard
with the other prisoners, I had a chance to talk to one of the
elderly British prisoners. He was very depressed and was certain
he never would get out alive. He felt sure I would get out, and
asked me to do a favor for him. He said, "I have a little daughter
living in the French Concession in Shanghai. I want you to
write to a certain bank in Australia and tell them to see that my

"DANGEROUS THOUGHTS" 389

deposit there is handed over to my daughter after the end of
the war." He mentioned the amount in English pounds, and it
was so large as to surprise me. Later when I told some of the
younger correspondents of the incident, they with one accord
asked for the young lady's address.

The food at the Kiangwan prison was somewhat better, as
we got a bowl of seaweed in addition to the rice, which was all
that had been provided at Bridge House. The seaweed was
fairly palatable at first, but after a while we became tired of it.

The food sent in from the outside came from the city by
truck a distance of ten or fifteen miles, and usually arrived
frozen. Since I could no longer put on my shoes the Japanese
finally sent for a doctor, who made an examination of my feet.
He gave me a daily injection for about two weeks, but this
brought no relief, and I steadily grew weaker and no longer
could eat anything. I could, however, drink the tea they occa-
sionally brought me. One day as I was lying on the floor looking
through the slot into the corridor, which was about four feet
wide, I saw the slot in the door directly opposite my cell cau-
tiously opened and a Japanese prisoner, a member of the "dan-
gerous thought" brigade, motioned to me and then put his finger
to his mouth. There were about fifty Japanese prisoners in that
section, and they had noticed that I was not eating the food
which the guards brought me. I quickly realized that the Japanese
prisoner was motioning for me to give him my food. After that,
I would watch until the sentry had walked around the corner
on his beat and then I would push the aluminum pans contain-
ing the food as far into the corridor as I could reach. The Jap
prisoner would then quickly reach out and grab the pan and
pull it into his cell After they had finished he would roll the
pans back to my side of the corridor.

Since I was not permitted to read and couldn't even whisper
to the other prisoners, I used to while away the time by com-
posing an endless poem which started out,

390 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

I'm only a little Japanese,
But I'm wonderfully clever.
I slipped into Pearl Harbor seas,
And sank America's fleet forever.

Then I sneaked across the China Sea,
To proud Shanghai and Hong Kong.
I caught the Anglo-Americans fast asleep,
With both male and female pants down.

The poem became progressively worse and completely un-
printable by the time I got to Singapore, Burma, and Batavia.
But it did help me to forget the terrible pain in my feet. At
night I would lie in the darkness and the deathly quiet, listening
for an old-fashioned clock somewhere in the building to strike
the hours and half-hours. Like the Americans and Filipinos at
Bataan and Corregidor, I never gave up hope of release, and
figuratively strained my eyes for the planes and battleships
which I felt would surely come. But there was no disguising
the fact that my physical condition was rapidly deteriorating,
and I began to speculate on the matter of death. My thoughts
would flit from a prayer beseeching divine assistance for my
wife and children in the United States, who I knew were worry-
ing about me, to the book I planned to write after I got out
I had no way of knowing that my family and friends in the
United States were moving heaven and earth to see that I was
included in the list scheduled for exchange. A Chinese prisoner
who was brought into Bridge House Prison before I left there
told me that a report had been circulated in Shanghai that Vic
Keen and I had been executed as spies.

One day a gendarmerie officer came down to my cell and
insisted that I write a letter stating I was in "good health." I
was puzzled at the request, not knowing that the Swiss Consul-
General, acting on behalf of the United States Government,
had called at the Bridge House and demanded the right to see
me. The Japanese refused the request, but attempted to side-
step a diplomatic issue by showing the Swiss official my letter

"'DANGEROUS THOUGHTS" 391

stating I was in "good health." Aware of the Japanese inability
to understand Americanese, I wrote the letter in such a way as
to indicate my real condition, but the Japs must have had expert
advice, as they brought the letter back a half dozen times and
finally threatened to punish me unless I wrote the letter as
they directed. The Swiss Consul-General told me after I had
been taken to the hospital that he suspected my real condition
because of the time it took the Japs to produce the signed letter
stating I was "all right."

I finally became so weak that I could only murmur "Take
me to the hospital," when the Japanese officer came to my cell
in the mornings to see how I was. One day when I had prac-
tically lost hope and would have welcomed death to put an end
to my misery, I heard a commotion at the door, and as it opened
and I looked into the corridor I was thrilled by the sight of two
Japanese guards bearing a stretcher. The Japanese doctor, who
accompanied them, gave me another shot in the arm and said,
"You go hospital" He then turned his back and walked away
as the guards rolled me on the stretcher. As they carried me out
of the dark interior of the building into the bright sunlight, I
made a supreme eifort and rolled my head over to one side. My
heart almost stopped beating, for there stood the municipal
ambulance, and waiting at the door were Dr. Gardiner and my
old journalistic collaborator, Vic Keen of the New York Herald
Tribwne. Both Gardiner and Keen looked at me searchingly, as
though to make sure they had the right patient. At the General
Hospital, when Dr. Gardiner was examining me, he laughed
and said that I resembled Mahatma Gandhi following one of
his extended fasts. I told him that my situation was really worse
than Gandhi's as I had been provided with neither grape juice
nor goat's milk.

XXXVII

Yankee Grain in China

A JAPANESE OFFICER accompanied me in the ambulance from
the Kiangwan Prison to the hospital, and after a conference
with Sister Helen, the French Franciscan nurse in charge, he
pasted a notice on the door of my room. It stated with great
formality that no one was permitted to enter the room without
official permission of the Japanese army authorities. After the
officer had departed Sister Helen told me that the Japanese
officer had given her orders that only two persons, aside from
the hospital staff, be permitted to enter my room. They were
my physician, Dr. W. H. Gardiner, and Victor Keen, my news-
paper colleague. Both Gardiner and Keen were in turn warned
not to disclose my whereabouts or condition to anyone on
penalty of severe punishment. Dr. Gardiner used to tell me
about conversations he frequently overheard in which someone
said that he knew positively that Powell had been shot.

The first problem, naturally, was to decide what to do with
my feet, which were swollen twice their normal size and were
almost black, due to "dry" gangrene. Should they be amputated
above the ankles, the usual practice in such cases? I heard the
doctors discussing the subject in the corridor.

The terrible pain my feet were causing me was almost un-
bearable and could only be borne when I kept them elevated
to a height above my heart; but to lose them entirely, leaving
me with two stumps! Even the thought of that was unbearable,
and then came the inescapable thought of ultimately recover-
ing and going home to my family and friends in that con-
dition.

YANKEE GRAIN IN CHINA 393

Finally we had a conference with the doctors, each present-
ing the pros and cons, whether to operate or not. Dr. Ranson,
a Briton, who had studied surgery in New York, suggested a
delay of a few hours to enable him to make an inspection of
Chinese and poorer-class Russian hospitals to see whether he
could find any similar cases. He found many cases in varying
degrees of seriousness, the worst being those in which the ail-
ment, because of neglect, had spread to the limbs and arms.

Another consultation, and it was decided to follow the most
approved treatment, which consisted largely of building up the
body by supplying artificially the missing elements, thus per-
mitting nature to overcome the poisonous infection. This treat-
ment was prolonged and painful, as it necessitated daily dressings
and removal of dead tissue and infected bones. The treatments
were usually preceded by a morphine injection, which merci-
fully deadened the pain as the doctor removed a toe here and
a bone there. I finally lost practically the entire foreparts of
both feet, which have been reduced to two stumps upon which
I hope, ultimately, with the help of some specially designed
shoes, to be able to balance myself and walk again. Since my
arrival at New York Presbyterian Medical Center, my infec-
tions have been cured and I have had innumerable skin-grafting
and "plastic" operations under the skilled hands of Doctors
Frank L. Meleney and Jerome P. Webster, both of whom
received three years of valuable experience in the Rockefeller
Institute in Peiping. Due to their skill and the services of the
nursing staff, I have made a miraculous recovery in fact, I
am on a reducing diet as this was written.

One day another patient was brought into the hospital room
in Shanghai adjoining mine, and a Chinese orderly whispered
to me that the patient was a "high Italian naval officer." After
the officer had been there a few hours he came in to see me
and told me a strange story. He was a retired naval officer,
captain of the Italian liner Conte Verde, which had been caught
in Shanghai harbor when war broke. His ship carried a crew

394 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

of about 350 Italian officers and men, who found themselves
bottled up in Shanghai with no chance of getting home.

He said that about a month after the outbreak of war the
Japanese asked him to assist them in transferring a large Yugo-
slavian-registered ship, which was also marooned in Shanghai
harbor, to Japan. The Japanese were anxious to have the ship
in Japan for use as an army transport to carry troops to the
South Seas. The regular crew of the ship had deserted after the
outbreak of war, and the Japanese had no one available in
Shanghai who knew how to operate it. The captain of the
Conte Verde recruited two dozen members of his Italian crew
and sailed the Yugoslavian steamer across to Japan. All went
well until they were entering Kobe Harbor, when, without
warning, there was a terrific explosion and the ship was blown
out of the water. About a dozen of the Italian volunteer crew
were killed, and the captain was hurled from the bridge into
the water.

The torpedo which caused the havoc was fired by an Amer-
ican submarine which apparently had been lying in wait off
the Japanese port.

The captain said that he swam until he was nearly exhausted,

when he found a water-soaked board floating on the surface of

the water. By gripping the edge of the board with his teeth

and paddling with both hands he managed to keep his nose

^bove the water and himself afloat for eight hours, when he

was picked up by a Japanese fisherman and taken to Kobe and

^ultimately sent back to Shanghai.

To my surprise he seemed to have no resentment against
Americans, despite the fact that he was suffering from a severe
attack of arthritis as a result of exposure in the cold, dirty
water of Kobe Harbor. Rather, he blamed the Japanese for all
his troubles. The Conte Verde was later used to transport
Americans, including myself, to Louren^o Marques, the little
port in Portuguese East Africa where the first exchange of war
prisoners between the United States and Japan took place. It
required no perspicuity on the part of the American passengers

YANKEE GRAIN IN CHINA 395

on the Conte Verde to discover that the Italian crew to a man
hated the Japanese and wished they could get away from them.
Some of them thought they might be able to escape from the
ship when it reached the African port, but there was no oppor-
tunity. The Japanese seized the Conte Verde and interned the
officers and crew in Shanghai after the collapse of Italy.

The difficult food situation which quickly developed in
Shanghai as a result of the Japanese occupation was soon observ-
able in the hospital, where many common articles, domestic as
well as imported, disappeared from the menu. Potatoes, for
example, were out for a long time, the reason being the refusal
of Chinese farmers to bring them to market because the Japs
had taken over the municipal markets, and in addition to the
extortion there the Japanese sentries along the roads leading into
the city all exacted their toll. The Japanese had also seized the
abattoirs, thus obtaining control over meat supplies.

The fact that the Japanese invasion of Chinese territory was
a robber expedition was nowhere more evident than at Shanghai.
Here it was observable that the robber instinct, previously re-
stricted to higher officers, had seeped down through the ranks
to the common soldiers, who were now filling their own pockets
by "squeezing" the poor Chinese peasants. Previously the ordi-
nary Jap soldier had been interested only in killing and torture,
but when he saw his officers filling their pockets he quickly
helped himself, either by looting the poor Chinese homes or
by forcing the peasants to pay toll as they trundled their produce
to market along the roads or the canals. As Shanghai was an
old and wealthy city in the midst of a rich district dotted with
innumerable family villages, it offered the Japs an opportunity
for loot which had not existed in the open spaces of Manchuria
or North China.

Once I was in the border town of Antung at the beginning
of the war when the customs authorities, who still belonged
to the Chinese regime, seized a Japanese army officer whose
pockets and clothes were so filled with jewelry and money that

396 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

he could scarcely sit down. How many people he had murdered
or tortured to obtain this secret hoard of some rich Chinese or
Russian family was never known.

It wasn't long before every imaginable line of trade, par-
ticularly foods, had been "organized" and monopolized by the
Japanese. All of the Chinese railroads and telegraphs, previously
government-owned, were taken over and handed to private
Japanese companies to which monopoly privileges had been
granted. In many cases the Japs went through the formality of
appointing Chinese, usually friends of the Wang Ching-wei
puppet Administration at Nanking, to minority positions in the
Japanese monopolies. The Wang Government, at periodic inter-
vals, would issue official notices legalizing the Japanese monop-
oly concerns.

As a result of the wholesale looting of Chinese resources, the
Chinese farmers and food producers and processors ceased func-
tioning, except for their own personal requirements. This ex-
plained why famine conditions developed in many sections of
China which had been prosperous. In Kwangtung Province of
South China the Japanese have followed the practice of raiding
rice-growing districts, where they either seize or destroy crops
of rice which are likely to be transported into Free China.

After having been starved in the Japanese internment camps
for nearly four months, I naturally had to return to a normal
diet by slow degrees. My stomach, long unaccustomed to nor-
mal food, rebelled against many articles which had constituted
a chief topic of conversation among the prisoners during the
period of incarceration. For example, we used to dream about
thick juicy steaks, but after I was taken to the hospital I found
I couldn't eat meat of any description except an occasional
small piece of boiled chicken. The hospital managed to obtain
supplies of eggs, which I could eat, and when I first arrived,
there was ample oatmeal and hot milk. But the supplies of oat-
meal suddenly stopped, and Sister Helen tearfully told me
that no more was available in the Shanghai market. "I have

YANKEE GRAIN IN CHINA 397

searched everywhere, and there isn't a single package of any
kind of American breakfast cereal in Shanghai," she said.

I was lying in bed thinking of this new crisis when I sud-
denly had an idea. For the past two years the American Red
Cross Committee in Shanghai, of which I was a member, had
been distributing "cracked wheat" and dried powdered skim
mUk to thousands of Chinese refugees who had been impov-
erished by the war. The Red Cross committees of businessmen
and missionaries had been formed in the areas occupied by the
Japanese army. Chinese businessmen in the foreign ports financed
the transportation of the grain from Shanghai to interior points.
The Japanese permitted most of the shipments to pass into
territory controlled by their army, the reason being two-fold:
First, the Japanese didn't want to do anything which might
cause the United States Government to enforce the threatened
embargo on vast shipments of scrap iron, oil, machinery, and
cotton which were flowing into Japan; second, the Japanese
army was purchasing (with worthless military notes) or seizing,
all of the rice and other foods which the Chinese farmers pro-
duced, hence they were not averse to permitting American
humanitarians to take over the job of feeding the starving vic-
tims of Japanese aggression. It also happened that the famine,
period in China, beginning with the Japanese invasion of North
China and the Yangtze Valley in 1937, coincided with the
period of surplus wheat in the United States. Enormous quan-
tities of the wheat were shipped to China in "cracked" form,
meaning that it had passed through the first milling process,
chiefly in the big mills at Seattle.

Missionary organizations and their Chinese affiliates who had
charge of much of the distribution originated numerous palat-
able menus which gradually changed the almost exclusively
rice-eating habits of the Chinese in the Yangtze Valley and
South China to a diet of American wheat.

In North China the population was already accustomed to
grain diets, wheat, corn, or kaoliang* but in Central and South
China the staple was rice, which, incidentally, is the most

398 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

expensive grain of all to produce, as it must be hand-planted,
hand-harvested and hand-threshed.

My "great idea" as I lay in the municipal hospital, after
Sister Helen had told me of the drying up of the cereal
supply, was concerned with the large quantities of cracked
wheat which the Red Cross shipped to Shanghai, and much of
which was still in storage. I dictated a letter for Sister Helen
to send to the American Relief Committee, which was still
functioning, suggesting that they intercede with the Japanese
army to release some of the wheat for use of the patients in the
hospital As a result we succeeded in obtaining a considerable
quantity of the cracked wheat for the hospital I also learned
that the American committee had induced the Japs to release
a further quantity of the American cracked wheat and dehy-
drated milk for the use of a considerable number of Americans
who found themselves in destitute circumstances as a result of
the shutting down of businesses with which they were con-
nected. Thus the American population in Shanghai unexpectedly
became the beneficiaries of a charity enterprise which originally
was intended for Chinese victims of Japanese aggression,

I wondered what became of the tens of thousands of starving
Chinese who had subsisted on the American cracked wheat
prior to Pearl Harbor, because the Japs immediately stopped all
distribution to the Chinese and commandeered all stocks. They
also did the same with regard to the large stocks of specialized
foods such as evaporated milk, baby foods and medicines which
the American Committee for Medical Aid to China, and other
bodies, had sent to Shanghai for relief purposes. Presumably
these unfortunate people joined the ranks of the thirty million
Chinese refugees who fled from Japanese-occupied regions and
joined the long trek to the west where they could be under
the National Government of Free China.

XXXVIII
On the Exchange List

ONE DAY A YOUNG Japanese lieutenant from the army spokes-
man's office came to see me at the hospital, and brought along
a large parcel of cigarettes. He spoke American-English per-
fectly, and said he had attended school in the United States.
He disclosed to me in great secrecy the exciting information
that there was to be an exchange of American and Japanese
civilians, and that American newspaper correspondents were to
be included in the exchange. He was certain that I would be
permitted to sail on the exchange ship, providing my health
would permit me to be taken on board.

Would the Japanese really permit me to sail, and would I
be physically able to make the trip? I put it up to Dr. Gardiner.
"You might be able to make the trip if you had daily medical
attention, but I'm not on the exchange list! " There was no way
of obtaining a copy of the sailing list to see whether any doctors
were included. It turned out that there were thirty missionary
doctors on the boat and more than fifty nurses, but we had no
way of knowing it then. I had no assurance, aside from the
word of the young Japanese army lieutenant, that rny name
was on the list.

Later I had another caller, the Consul-General for neutral
Switzerland, who acted for the United States in the Far East.
He told me of many attempts he had made to see me at both
Bridge House and Kiangwan prisons, but he had always been
put off with crudely written letters bearing my signature stat-
ing "I am in good health and very satisfied," or similar ridicu-
lous statements which I obviously had not written. The Swiss

399

400 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Consul-General also told me of the report which had been
circulated in the United States that I had been executed for
"espionage," and of inquiries he had received from the State
Department on the subject. The Swiss official assured me that
iny name was on the sailing list of the exchange ship, providing
my physical condition would permit my being taken aboard,
and providing also that the Japanese didn't change their minds
at the last minute and decide to hold me in Shanghai.

A few days later Vic Keen came to see me, in great agita-
tion, ;and showed me a copy of the Shanghai Evening "Post and
Mercury > former American paper but now a Japanese organ,
which had a two-column story on the front page stating that a
number of Americans and Britons had been convicted by army
court-martial of espionage activities against Japan and had been
given heavy sentences. My name was in the list. Keen felt
certain that a group of the army which was known to oppose
my repatriation had been able to countermand the previous
order, and that I probably would be returned to the Japanese
prison. I also learned that the report in the paper had been
broadcast over the Japanese radio by an American journalistic
renegade who had "gone over" to the Japs and was broadcasting
Domei and Transocean reports over one of the former Amer-
ican stations.

Under the excellent care of the hospital staff my health had
begun to show improvement; my weight was up to 79 pounds,
and I was able to sit in a reclining chair in the sun on the
veranda adjoining my room. The pain in my abbreviated feet
had also decreased, thanks to the removal of many of the in-
fected bones and tissues, and the receipt of further blood trans-
fusions. The prospect of my being able to sail spurred the
nurses and Chinese orderlies to increased effort in my behalf,
Vic Keen's Chinese boy even smuggled into the hospital some
delicious Chinese food of his own preparation, Sister Helen
brought me a little charrn which she pinned on my pajamas
over my heart, with a prayer for my recovery* She was elated

ON THE EXCHANGE LIST 401

when I repeated to her from memory a prayer-poem she had
given me a few days previously.

Then I received a report that Dr. Gardiner's name had been
added to the sailing list, which brought me almost as much joy
as it did him. I also learned that another long-time medical
friend, Dr. J. C McCracken of St. Luke's Hospital, and his
wife, were scheduled to sail. So too was Dr. Randolph Shields
of the Cheeloo Medical School in Shantung. The presence of
such a large number of missionary doctors and nurses on the
exchange ship was an indication of the extent to which the
Japanese invasion of China had forced the suspension of hos-
pitals and medical services.

In the midst of the joyful news and preparations for de-
parture came the report in the renegade papers, supplemented
by the broadcast over the Jap radio, that I would not be per-
mitted to sail.

Of one thing I was certain I would never go back to the
Jap prison alive. I mentally calculated the distance from my
bed to the veranda, and wondered whether I might be able to
summon sufficient strength to crawl to the veranda and climb
over the four-foot banister and throw myself to the street,
seven floors below. The idea of suicide had never before en-
tered my mind, although I suspected on several occasions that
the Japanese gendarmes would have been greatly pleased if I
had leaped over the railing of the narrow balcony which fronted
the fourth-floor apartments in Bridge House Prison where the
gendarme inquisitors had their offices. The Japanese guard who
escorted me frbm my cell to Lieutenant Yamamoto's office and
back, often, late at night, would point over the banister into
the dark courtyard below and laugh significantly, but I pre-
tended not to notice him and hurried along the dark passageway
as fast as I could walk.

My thoughts involuntarily reverted to the case of my friend
and former newspaper colleague at Shanghai, u j m i e " Cox,
correspondent for Reuter's, who jumped or was thrown from

402 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

a fourth-floor window in the gendarmerie headquarters in
Tokyo during the same kind of inquisition to which I was
being subjected. Jimmie, well known in newspaper circles in
the Far East, had been manager of Renter's Tokyo office for
some time when he was suddenly summoned to the gendarmerie
headquarters and charged with espionage activities on behalf
of the British Embassy. After he had been questioned for sev-
eral hours, so the gendarmes alleged, Cox had confessed his
guilt and jumped from the window to the concrete sidewalk
below. He was not killed by the fall and was taken to a hospital
in an unconscious condition. The British Embassy finally forced
the Japanese to permit a British doctor to examine him, and
it was found that his arms and legs were covered with marks
indicating that he had been repeatedly pricked by a hypodermic
needle;

There was no way of explaining the mystery, as Cox never
regained consciousness. Were the marks of the needle evidence
of some weird form of Japanese torture designed to make him
confess to something of which he was not guilty? Some thought
the gendarmes had repeatedly beaten him into insensibility and
then revived him with a hypodermic, until they had forced
him to sign a crudely written confession, following which they
had thrown him from the window. After his death the Japanese
turned over to Jimmie's wife the sheet of paper containing his
alleged confession. Relman Morin, Associated Press correspond-
ent in Tokyo, who sent a report of the incident, was himself
summoned to the police station for questioning concerning his
sources of information; but he was released after a few hours,
James R. Young, I.N.S- correspondent in Tokyo, was also im-
prisoned for several weeks because of cables he had filed while
on a trip to China, which had aroused the ire of the war lords.
Other correspondents in Japan, including Otto Tolischus of the
New York Times, were also imprisoned and mistreated after
Pearl Harbor.

The day following publication of the report of my "con-
viction" the young Japanese lieutenant came to see me again,

ON THE EXCHANGE LIST 403

and when he saw the distressed look on my face he smiled
reassuringly and said, "Don't pay any attention to that story
or the broadcast; you are certain to be on the Conte Verde
when it sails next week." I asked him why the story had been
printed. His reply was only one word, "Face." It continued to
puzzle me, but after I reached New York a friend told me he
had heard in Washington that the Japanese had made a last-
minute attempt to hold me but had been forced to permit me
to sail when the State Department allegedly threatened to hold
a Japanese banker whom the Tokyo Government was anxious
to have repatriated.

Two days before the Conte Verde sailed my Japanese officer
acquaintance came to tell me good-bye and he had a request,
which explains why I cannot divulge his name. He told me he
was a graduate of a well known American university and "if
I happened to see any of his classmates, would I explain to
them that he entertained no hatred for Americans and had
joined the Japanese army not from choice." He was one of the
only two Japanese among several scores I met in the course of
many years of newspaper work in the Orient who expressed such
sentiments.

Sister Helen and the head Chinese orderly at the hospital
came to my room early one morning and announced that the
ambulance had come to take me to the Conte Verde. Dr. Gar-
diner arrived a few minutes later, with his hands full of vaccina-
tion and inoculation certificates, and testimonials to my "good
health" and complete freedom from any "contagious ailments."
These were all necessary in order to obtain a sailing permit.
Also there was an order permitting me to draw from the ship's
purser the sum of $100 to cover my expenses on the voyage.
The money was a loan from Uncle Sam, advanced through the
State Department and the Swiss consulate. I needed it greatly
because I had disposed of most of my worldly possessions which
had escaped Japanese seizure, including my office typewriters,
in order to pay my hospital and medicine bills. My office,

404 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

including a large stock of precious print paper and my office
library, the most complete newspaper reference library and
"morgue" in the Far East, and also my business and personal
accounts in the bank, were of no use to me now, as they were
sealed by the Imperial Japanese Army. When I was finally
carried aboard the ship the strain of the last few days which
had buoyed me up was suddenly relaxed and as the bearers set
my stretcher down on the floor in the corridor to my stateroom,
I fainted for the first time.

When I came to I found a slip of paper someone had slipped
into my hand. It was from a personal friend, a young American
woman journalist formerly employed on the China Press. She
wished me a pleasant trip and expressed her faith in my final
recovery. She asked me to tell her parents not to worry, and
expressed the hope she would be able to sail on the "next voyage"
of the Gripsholm. Unfortunately she was not permitted to sail
on the next voyage, and as I write is still in Shanghai. As the
Conte Verde drew away from the jetty I strained my eyes to
see her among the hundreds of Americans standing on the
jetty, all trying to be brave, but holding back their tears with
difficulty. I couldn't hold mine back! All of them prayed to be
able to sail on the "next exchange ship," but none dreamed
that more than a year would elapse before the stubborn Jap-
anese would agree to another sailing, or that in the intervening
time all Americans in Shanghai and elsewhere in the Far East
would be interned and that many would not be able to survive
the ordeal. There has been no further exchange of prisoners
with Japan.

XXXIX

Homeward Bound

THE PASSENGER LISTS of the first voyage of the Conte Verde,
which carried refugees from China ports, and of the Asama
Maru, which carried refugees from Japanese ports, Manchuria
and Korea, included five distinct groups: first, diplomatic and
consular officials; second, newspaper correspondents; third, "out-
port" missionaries; fourth, Canadians; fifth, Latin-Americans.
The term "out-port" is a familiar one in the Orient, referring
chiefly to missionaries who reside in the interior parts of the
country, not in the coastal cities. In addition to these five
classifications, there were also a few businessmen on board. The
missionaries, who were the largest group, included both Prot-
estants and Catholics. The details of the exchange concerning
feeding and medical care of passengers were arranged through
the International Red Cross at Geneva, Switzerland.

We had one stowaway on the Conte Verde, an American
young man who came on board to tell his friends good-bye and
who lingered too long over a drink in the friend's cabin. Unfor-
tunately for him, he was discovered by the Japanese before our
ship passed the last customs boat at the mouth of the Yangtze.
An hour more and he might have been safe, but he was trans-
ferred from our ship to the customs boat and sent back to
Shanghai. We never heard what happened to him, but imagined
the worst.

The Conte Verde was a crack Italian liner before the war,
operating between Italian ports and the Orient. It was manned
by an Italian crew numbering some 300 officers and men. The
Conte Verde was caught in Shanghai at the time of the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, but since Japan and Italy were part-

406 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

nets in the Axis the Japanese could not seize the ship, despite
Japan's dire need of ocean tonnage. Since the Conte Verde was
used for repatriating Americans from Japanese-occupied terri-
tory, the ship was subject to Japanese governmental orders,
which were carried out by a contingent of Japanese naval
officers and Foreign Office officials aboard. Fortunately the
Japanese remained in their quarters, and we saw little of them.
The situation was a curious one, because it was obvious that the
Italian officers and crew were on friendlier terms with the pas-
sengers than they were with the Japanese. The Italian head
steward on the deck where my cabin was located quickly
assured us that he had little love for the Japanese, and wished
that Italy was on our side in the war.

The officers and men of the Conte Verde had an opportu-
nity, not many months later, to demonstrate the truth of this
statement. On the morning of September 8, 1943, the day when
Italy dropped out of the war, Americans who had been interned
in an old factory building ia the Pootung section of Shanghai
were astonished to see the Conte Verde, which had been
anchored just off shore, slowly changing its position. There were
a large number of sailors and officers on the main deck, and they
were waving and shouting at the interned Americans, who had
been attracted to the windows of their "jail" by the shouts of
the Italians. The Americans were astonished, however, to see
the proud Italian liner, instead of moving forward as they
expected, slowly turn over on its side in the muddy harbor. The
Italian crew had received a tip-off by radio from some source
in Italy telling the news of their country's withdrawal from
the war. They immediately opened the valves in the hull and
scuttled the ship. The Japanese were infuriated, as they would
have seized the ship to help balance their losses of* ship tonnage
caused by American submarine action. Within a few minutes
a Japanese destroyer, with its guns trained, sped up to the
Conte Verde, but it was too late the ship was already lying
on its side, and the Italian officers and men were clinging to the
rail, cheering the interned Americans on shore. The commander

HOMEWARD BOUND 407

of the Japanese destroyer removed the Italian officers and crew,
and placed a Japanese guard on the sloping deck. The Italians
were interned for the duration.

Later the Japanese, pressed still more for shipping, floated
the Conte Verde and prepared to take the ship to Japan for
repairs. But they were frustrated again this time a lone Amer-
ican plane, attached to the Fourteenth Air Corps at Kunming,
flew over and dropped several bombs directly on the ship
which slowly settled back on the muddy bottom of the Whang-
poo, where it lies with its deck awash.

The first stop of the Conte Verde bearing our party of war
refugees was off shore at Singapore, where we were joined by
the Asama Adam, which had preceded us, stopping at Hong
Kong harbor, to pick up a number of Americans and Canadians
who were on the repatriation list. From Singapore both ships
sailed southward, practically within speaking distance of each
other for the entire voyage down the coast of southwestern
Asia and then across the Indian. Ocean to the little Portuguese
port of Lourengo Marques, in the southern tip of the Portuguese
colony of Mozambique on the east coast of Africa.

Since both ships had been granted safe passage by all bellig-
erents, they were plainly marked and were brightly illuminated
at night, so there would be no mistake on the part of some
submarine commander. On the entire voyage from Shanghai to
Africa, approximately thirty days, we sighted only one small
cargo boat, and that was in the Indian Ocean. After leaving
Singapore we passed through the dangerous waters of the
Netherlands Indies and through the Coral Sea, the scene of the
memorable victory of the American warships over the Japanese,
which will probably go down in history as the battle that saved
Australia from Japanese invasion.

When the Conte Verde first crossed the equator, several of
the younger passengers planned a celebration in honor of Father
Neptune, God of the Sea, in accordance with ancient custom.
The ceremony usually consists of ducking, hair-cutting, beard-

40 8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

trimming, or worse, but the celebration was called off when it
was learned that the point where our ship crossed the equator
was quite near the graveyard of the American cruiser Houston,
which had been torpedoed by the Japanese and went down with
practically her entire crew of more than 600 officers and men.
Both the Houston and the sister cruiser, the Augusta, were well
known in Far Eastern ports.

The spirits of the passengers improved as we traveled farther
and farther away from Japan, We had evidence, however, of the
nervousness which still prevailed among the passengers one
Sunday when Bishop Gilman, the speaker at the church service,
referred to the Japanese in his sermon. Several of the passengers
feared that the Bishop's reference might arouse the indignation
of the Japanese officers aboard, and an attempt was made to
induce the Bishop to make an apology, or at least an explanation,
which he naturally refused to do.

We had not sailed far before the problem of a nurse became
paramount, as I was practically helpless. My friend, Dr. J. C.
McCracken, decided to appeal for volunteers. As a result eight
missionary nurses offered their services. The young ladies were
Miss Beulah Bourns, Somerset, Manitoba, Canada; Miss Ruth
Danner, Bloomington, 111.; Miss Helen Dizney, Boston, Mass.;
Miss Isabel Hemingway, New York City; Miss Vera Ingcrson,
Battle Creek, Mich.; Miss Geneva Miller, New York City;
Miss Irene Moore, Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and Miss Edith
Myers, New York City. Another missionary to whom I owed
much on the trip was Mr. Don Paris of Tapino, British Colum-
bia, Canada. Mr. Faris was connected with Cheeloo University,
Tsinan, Shantung, where he had charge of rural life work. He
came to my cabin every day and carried me to the deck, where
the brilliant sun and bracing sea air worked wonders on my
emaciated body.

All of the young women had been in charge of mission
hospitals at interior points in China, in some cases more than a
thousand miles from the coast They had remained on the job

HOMEWARD BOUND 409

up to the Japanese occupation of the territory where they were
located, and each had a thrilling story to tell of her experiences
in trying to care for the Chinese patients and protect the prop-
erty after the Japanese had taken over. In some cases their
Chinese patients were literally thrown into the street and the
hospital closed. At one hospital in Shantung the nursing" staff
was confined to the building, and for a considerable period no
one was permitted to enter or leave. They ran out of food, and
had it not been for the loyalty of the Chinese staff, who man-
aged to smuggle in rice and vegetables, they would have starved.
In other cases, however, they received better treatment and
were not subjected to any indignities. Most of these young
ladies plan to return to China to resume their work in
sections of the country under control of the National Govern-
ment. All are engaged in useful service in the United States and
Canada.

There apparently were no cases in North China similar to
the atrocities described by Miss Gwen Dew, correspondent for
Newsweek, who was at Hong Kong when the Japanese cap-
tured that British port. Miss Dew described to me how the
Japanese soldiers shot the British doctor who attempted to pre-
vent them from entering his hospital, following which they bay-
onetted the wounded British and Canadian soldiers and capped
their brutalities by raping the nurses*

The passengers on both the Conte Verde and the Asama
Mam received their first genuine thrill and sense of relief when
we entered the harbor of Louren^o Marques. Since Portugal is
neutral, Loureno Marques provided a welcome port of call on
the East African coast for allied ships of every description,
Here we had our first glimpse, since Pearl Harbor, of American
and British flags. They were flying from the masts of rusty
tankers, but they could not have brought more joy had they
been on a palatial liner. There were several American and British
tankers and cargo boats in the harbor, and as soon as the captains
of those ships recognized us they began sounding the victory

410 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

signal with their sirens, while the officers and crews cheered.
Immediately the whole harbor and surrounding hills were echo-
ing to the sounds of the sirens giving the V signal at full blast.
We realized for the first time that we were at last free from the
barbarian of the East

We knew that we were scheduled to meet at Lourengo
Marques the Swedish liner Gripsholm, which carried the same
number of Japanese repatriates from the United States as there
were North and South Americans on our ships. As our ships
drew near the jetty we noticed that the Gripsholm had already
preceded us into the harbor and was anchored at the dock.
As arranged previously, the Asama Mam, carrying refugees
from Japan, Manchuria, Hong Kong, and Korea, and the
Conte Verde, carrying our party from China, drew up on each
side of the Gripsholm^ which was loaded with Japanese. After
our ships had been made fast at the dock, a conference was held
as to the actual method of making the exchange. All passengers
were instructed to pack their bags and stand in the corridors,
and when the signal was given two lines of Japanese from the
Gripsholm moved down the gangplank of their ship to the
jetty, while similar lines from our ship and the Asama Maru
moved down our gangplanks to the same jetty, where the lines
passed each other, the North Americans and South Americans
then proceeding up the gangplank to the Gripsbolm, while the
Japs took our places. Since the total passenger list on the
Asama Mam and Conte Verde numbered approximately i,<5oo,
we quickly discovered that the Gripsholm was to be much
more crowded than had been the case on either of the other
ships on the outward voyage, Some American children, not
being as aware of the seriousness of the war situation as were
their elders, began fraternizing with the Japanese boys on the
Gripsholm. Since the Japanese boys had attended school in
the United States, they all spoke the same language, hence there
was considerable amusement aboard our ship when a Japanese
kid yelled across to the American boys hanging from the rail
of our ship, "What kind of food have you got on your ship?"

HOMEWARD BOUND 41 1

One of our youngsters immediately replied, "Rotten, but have
you got any ice cream on your boat?" To which the Japanese
replied, "Plenty!" We were told that many of the Japanese were
none too enthusiastic about returning to their homeland after
long residence in the United States.

There "tvere innumerable reunions as the passengers from
our ships, which had sailed within sight of each other for thirty
days, finally got together on the Gripsholm. There were several
cases where American and Canadian husbands, who had been
interned at Hong Kong and were passengers on the Asama
Maru } were reunited with their wives who had been in Shanghai
and in consequence were passengers on the Conte Verde.
Among the American newspapermen in Japan who were pas-
sengers on the Asama Maru were Robert Bellaire, head of the
United Press at Tokyo; Max Hill, head of the Associated Press,
and Relman Morin, also of the Associated Press at the Japanese
capital. Another well known American correspondent in Japan
who had been interned and had suffered severely at the hands
of his Japanese captors was Otto Tolischus of the New York
Times.

There also were numerous reunions of American diplomats
from Japan and China. On the Asama Maru were Ambassador
Joseph G Grew and his staff, including Mr. Eugene H. Dooman,
Counsellor of Embassy, and Mr. Frank Williams, commercial
attache. On our ship were Mr. Frank Lockhart, Consul-General
at Shanghai and concurrently Counsellor of Embassy, and his
staff. Also on our ship was Miss Jacobson, acting manager of
the office of the United States Treasury at Shanghai. The direc-
tor of the China office of the United States Treasury at
Shanghai, Mr, Martin R, Nicholson, died suddenly of a heart
ailment in his office only a few days before Pearl Harbor, and
his body was still unburied at the undertaker's when the Japa-
nese took over the city. Nicholson's friends, including myself,
felt that it perhaps was fortunate that "Nick'' had escaped the
Japs, as he probably had tracked down more international dope
smugglers, including many Japanese, than any other man in

412 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

the narcotic-suppression division of our Treasury Department.
I had known Nicholson for many years and had spent many
evenings in his home, when he recounted his adventures with
desperate smugglers of narcotics. Three notorious gangsters re-
cently executed at Sing Sing, who owed their convictions on
a murder charge to Governor Thomas E. Dewey, were exposed
as members of an international dope ring by the unadvertised
activities of Martin Nicholson, Treasury agent at Shanghai.

Several of the American consular officials left our ship at
Lourengo Marques, upon instructions of the State Department,
which transferred them to other posts in Africa, the Near East
and India. Mr. A. Bland Calder, acting commercial attach6 in
China, was transferred to Moscow. Other American newspaper-
men aboard the Gripsholm were Morris J. Harris, former chief
of the Associated Press bureau in China; Jimmy White, also
with Associated Press at Shanghai; John Goette, International
News Service at Peiping, and "Hank" Ford, International
News Service at Shanghai.

Since several days were required to make the transfer of
passengers and other arrangements at Lourengo Marques, time
was provided for an inspection of this attractive little Portu-
guese port, a jewel on the east coast of the dark continent. Al-
though located in Portuguese colonial territory, Lourengo
Marques served in peacetime as an outlet for a rich and rapidly
developing hinterland extending for thousands of miles across
Africa and south to Cape Town, Union of South Africa, Many
of the passengers took side trips to view the sights of East Africa
in the vicinity, particularly the giant hippos in a nearby river.

Lourengo Marques is famous for two things its excellent
fruit, which rivals that of Florida, and native-made bronze cruci-
fixes and sacred images. My nurse bought me a beautiful crucifix
which I shall always treasure. As for the famous fruit of
Lourenjo Marques, I gave one of my nurses a dollar and asked
her to purchase for me a supply of African grapefruit She
came back with two large baskets, one on each arm. There were

HOMEWARD BOUND 413

more than a dozen, of excellent flavor and considerably larger
than either our Florida or California brands. As none of our
passengers had eaten any fresh fruit for weeks, we practically
cleared the shops of their supplies.

I was too ill to leave my cabin except to be carried on deck,
hence I had to enjoy the scenery at second-hand. Fortunately
I met an old newsreel acquaintance from the civil war days in
China, Merle LaVoy. Officials who took charge of our party
at Lourengo Marques had issued strict orders against any news-
reel men being permitted to come on board the Gripsholm, but
LaVoy had been up against censorship too long to permit that
to bother him. One day LaVoy appeared in my stateroom,
dressed in a heavy overcoat which bulged in all directions. He
looked as though he weighed three hundred pounds. But the
excess avoirdupois quickly disappeared when he divested him-
self of at least a half dozen cameras, including newsreels. With
the help of Dr. Gardiner, LaVoy immediately proceeded to
take my picture from all points of view, including the lacerated
and swollen remains of my feet. One picture which he snapped,
showing me lying on the bed with one of my injured feet
extended, he labeled "Gandhi" Powell because, he explained, of
my resemblance to the wasted frame of the Indian Nationalist
leader. My weight then was about eighty pounds. This particu-
lar picture later appeared in Life, and must have been seen by
most of my old classmates, teachers, neighbors, friends, and
relatives, because when I landed at New York I found more
than six hundred letters awaiting me,

Since LaVoy had been stationed for a considerable time In
South Africa, he told many Interesting stories of conditions on
that continent. I was particularly interested in his description
of the large game preserve, largest area In the world where the
native animals of Africa are protected and live as if in their
native haunts. Within the park are Innumerable African animals
such as lions, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, gorillas, and so on,
living in their natural state. He said that it was possible for one
to travel in a motor car through the native haunts of these

414 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

animals without molestation. LaVoy declared they wouldn't
even look up when the motor cars passed by.

Practically all of the newspapermen aboard received cables
at Loureno Marques asking for stories of their experiences and
descriptions of conditions in the Far East following Pearl
Harbor. As a result there was a great scurrying about for type-
writers, paper, carbon paper, and cable blanks. The little Portu-
guese telegraph office at Lourengo Marques was swamped with
news messages, some of them several thousand words in length.
I received a cable from Mr. Charles G. Ross of the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch bureau in Washington asking me to write a series
of articles for the Post-Dispatch. As I was physically unable to
sit up in bed and type, I was at a loss to comply with Ross's
request. Two of my nurses who had stenographic experience
volunteered their services, and soon my stateroom resembled
a newspaper office, with me dictating and the nurses typing
the stories. I succeeded in sending one story by cable before the
Gripsholm sailed. The others I dictated in more leisurely fashion
on the voyage from Lourengo Marques to Rio de Janeiro. Con-
sul-General Lockhart read my report, and asked me for a copy to
be incorporated in his report to the State Department. When the
Gripsholm reached Rio I dispatched the stories by air mail, and
they reached their destination in a few hours and without
censorship. The articles were later syndicated to newspapers all
over the United States arid Latin America by King Features.
Reader's Digest also summarized the article in an early issue
after I landed.

After the Gripsholm had rounded Cape of Good Hope on the
return voyage, our fear of Japanese torpedo attack changed
to anxiety about Nazi submarines, as they were then active in
the South Atlantic. We sailed directly across the South Atlantic
to Rio de Janeiro, our first stop in the new and free world of
the Americas. Since we had a large number of Latin American
diplomats aboard, we spent several days in the Brazilian metrop-
olis, which has one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.

HOMEWARD BOUND 415

High above the city on a commanding mountain peak is a gi-
gantic statue of Jesus with arms outstretched. The statue rivals
in size and beauty the famous statue of Christ of the Andes,
which stands on the peak of a mountain on the border between
Chile and Argentina, symbolizing many decades of peace be-
tween the two important Latin American countries.

At Rio our ship was joined by a number of officials of the
State Department, and other departments of the government,
including the F.B.I., who were interested in checking up on our
passenger list and obtaining the latest information from the Far
East. Among them was Dr. Carl F. Remer, an old resident of
Shanghai and a contributor to the China Weekly Review. He
had been Professor of Economics at St. John's University in
Shanghai, and author of books on economic and financial condi-
tions in China, but later returned home and joined the faculty
of the University of Minnesota. He is now serving as an
executive in the State Department at Washington. Professor
Remer brought me the first news of my family; that my wife,
son, daughter, son-in-law, and three-year-old grandson would
be in New York when our ship reached the home port. I also
had another welcome visitor on board the Gripsholm in Rio
Harbor Dr, Shao-Hwa Tan, Chinese minister to Brazil, whom
I had known in Nanking. He brought me messages of greeting
and good-will from the then Chinese Ambassador in Washing-
ton, Dr. Hu Shih, as well as other members of the Chinese
diplomatic and consular staffs in New York and elsewhere, in-
cluding Mr. T. V. Soong, Foreign Minister, and Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek. Of my many Chinese friends, I have the
greatest esteem for an unknown restaurant owner in New York
who notified me that I could always dine at his place without
charge. He said that he had read of my experiences at the
hands of the Japs, and wanted to show his appreciation of my
service for China in a practical way. He assured me that no
Chinese restaurant would charge me for a meal if I would
identify myself, but I haven't tried that out.

41 6 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Although the danger of Nazi submarines was still an ever
present one, the voyage home from Rio almost resembled a
pleasure tour, thanks to the smoothness of the sea. As we were
on the last lap of our voyage, the restraint under which we had
lived so long gradually lifted. Many of the "godless" passengers,
including most of the newspapermen and businessmen, and
several of the diplomats, resorted to the well known American
games of poker and craps, and while we had only a few days
left, the time was nevertheless sufficient for most of them to
lose the sums which had been advanced by the State Depart-
ment to cover incidental expenses. A doctor friend of mine
was the chief winner.

On the voyage to New York the Gripsholw swung out to
the mid-Atlantic, to avoid German submarines which were
active along the Brazilian Coast and the Caribbean Sea. One
day there was considerable excitement when we passed the
burning wreckage of a ship, supposedly a tanker which had
been toipedoed. We felt that the captain of the Gripsholm
should have stopped to see whether there were any survivors
clinging to the wreckage, but he had instructions to proceed
directly without stopping for anything because there might
have been a German submarine lurking in the vicinity, ready
to blow us out of the water had we stopped to investigate.

XL
China's Future

MY CHIEF WORRY on the long homeward journey had been the
question of medical attention and hospital service upon landing
at New York. Due to my long absence from the United States,
I was unfamiliar with doctors and hospitals, and I frequently
discussed the matter with various physicians whom I knew
aboard the Gripshohn. Most of the missionary doctors recom-
mended the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center of New
York, which had long maintained connections in the Orient,
particularly with China, through the dispatch of medical mis-
sions of physicians and nurses. I was told that several members
of the medical center staff had served on the faculty of Peiping
Union Medical College (Rockefeller Institute) in North China.

A further source of worry, as the Gripsbolm neared New
York, was how I would get off the boat in my helpless condi-
tion. In the general excitement as we entered the harbor, I was
almost forgotten in the rush of passengers to the decks. How-
ever, one faithful nurse remained to watch the passing scene
from the window of my stateroom and describe excitedly the
never-to-be-forgotten landmarks of New York's harbor and the
famous skyline of lower Manhattan. She exclaimed, "Oh, there's
the Statue of Liberty," and we both wiped the tears from
our eyes.

The GripshoMs propellers had scarcely ceased revolving,
as the ship came to a stop alongside the pier, when I heard
someone hurry along the corridor leading to my room. A
familiar figure entered the door it was my son, John William,
who had departed from Shanghai only a few weeks before
Pearl Harbor, after a year on the staff of the China Press.

4*7

41 8 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

Luckily he had decided to return home in order to complete his
course at the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri,
and thus had escaped the Japs. As he strode into my stateroom
he was accompanied by a marine corporal, who solved my
problem of leaving the ship by picking me up bodily and carry-
ipg me ashore in his arms. He commented humorously on my
light weight and Gandhi-like appearance as he carried me with
little effort down the gangplank and directly to a waiting am-
bulance, driven by a young woman in the uniform of the
American Red Cross Ambulance Corps. I saw another young
woman standing beside the ambulance, who introduced herself
to me. She was my daughter, Bunny, whom I had not seen since
she departed from Shanghai when she was ten years old. After
completing the journalism course at Missouri, she had joined
the Post-Dispatch in St. Louis, but shortly afterward had mar-
ried and was living in Washington, where her husband, Mal-
colm Stewart Hensley, was acting director of the foreign
broadcast monitoring service of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission. He is now manager of the United Press in
India.*

I was taken temporarily to the Marine Hospital on Staten
Island, where my wife was awaiting me. This hospital is under
the supervision of the United States Public Health Service, and
I was told that emergency cases resulting from enemy sub-
marine attacks on our merchant ships were taken there. I stayed
in the Marine Hospital only about twenty-four hours, when ar-
rangements were made to transfer me to Harkness Pavilion of
the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. There I still am as
this is written, over two and a half years later.

After a careful examination by staff physicians at the Medi-
cal Center, I was told that the original diagnosis of my condi-
tion made in Shanghai had been correct. My ailment was a
serious case of gangrenous infection of both feet, resulting from
malnutrition, exposure, and the stoppage of circulation in my
feet and legs, due to the Japanese habit of forcing Occidental

CHINA'S FUTURE 419

prisoners to sit on their feet "Japanese fashion" for long periods
at a stretch.

Every effort was made at once to check the infection in
my feet. This and further difficult surgical tasks were under-
taken by Dr. Frank L. Meleney and Dr. Jerome P. Webster,
and their assistants. At the some time I was put on a diet of
enriched milk and other foods with large doses of vitamins in
order to build up my general resistance and restore my starved,
emaciated body.

During my long stay in the hospital I have also had in-
numerable blood transfusions. I was immediately impressed by
the ease with which blood or plasma transfusions are made in
this country, in comparison with the difficulties I experienced in
Shanghai on my release from prison. There was no such thing
as a blood bank in all China at the outbreak of the war, and it
is only since I have been a patient at Presbyterian Hospital
that the hospital authorities, in cooperation with Chinese in-
terests in New York, have sent a complete blood-bank unit
to China. A Chinese nurse, Mrs. Liu, who received her training
at the S.D.A. Sanitarium at Shanghai and at Presbyterian Hos-
pital in New York, has charge of die bank, the first in China.

As the infection in my feet gradually cleared up, the exposed
surfaces were covered with grafts of skin, transplanted from
my upper thighs. This is known as pinch grafting, and is done
by the removal of small pieces of skin about the size of a nickel,
which are then grafted on the exposed surfaces so that the
edges meet and, if the graft is successful, grow together. About
sixty pinch grafts of skin from each of my thighs were re-
quired, a process which lasted for over a year.

By the fall of 1943 I was beginning to regain my strength
and even to leave the hospital for a few hours at a time in a
wheel chair to speak at bond rallies and on the radio. One or
two spots of infection, however, seemed to resist every resource
of modern science, with the result that after every sortie one
or another of the grafts would break down. Special shoes had
been made to enable me to stand erect and eventually to walk,

420 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

but evidently the skin grafts were not sufficiently strong to
bear the pressure when I stood on my feet.

It was finally decided, early in 1944, that more drastic
surgical treatment was necessary to adequately cover with flesh
the stumps of my heels and the bones of my feet. This, a
type of grafting known as plastic surgery, in which Dr. Web-
ster is particularly skilled, involves the removal of a considerable
section of skin, together with about a half inch of underlying
tissue. The earlier pinch grafts had often been painful, as the
spots from which the skin was taken were sometimes slow in
healing on account of my general physical condition, and, in
addition, I suffered constant pain and discomfort in my feet.
I was ill prepared, however, for what I was to experience now.

A flap about four inches wide and twelve inches in length
was cut loose from my right thigh and a piece of skin from my
chest was grafted on the exposed wound. The flap itself was
brought downward and left attached just above the knee. My
left knee was bent and my left heel was attached to the under
side of this flap just above my right knee. A plaster cast held
the graft tight, with my left knee suspended from a framework
built above my bed. I remained for six weeks lying on my
back in this position. I was then put on the operating table
once more. The flap was cut off at the knee, my left leg was
stretched out, and the other end of the flap was grafted to my
right heel. I understood that it was necessary to hold down my
left leg by force to encase both legs in a plaster cast. As a result
of the second operation following the six weeks' ordeal I had
been through, I sank lower than I had been at any point since
my return, and for the first time I felt that perhaps I should
have urged the doctors to amputate my feet at the ankles in
Shanghai.

I realize that my own experiences are, in no way comparable
to some of the miracles of plastic surgery which are being
performed on war casualties, many of which I have had occasion
to observe during my stay at the hospital My own case, how-
ever, was complicated by my greatly weakened physical condi-

CHINA'S FUTURE 421

tion, the long-standing infection in my feet, and by the fact
that I was no longer the young man who went to China a
quarter of a century ago.

About five weeks after the operation I have just described,
the flap which connected my heels was cut, and, as the graft
gradually healed, I found myself provided with new soles cover-
ing my heels and the remnants of my feet and with new cover-
ing for my ankles. I am now gradually learning to walk once
more with special shoes, which is a slow process, as the stumps
of my feet are sensitive and the flesh grafted from my thighs
is not yet as tough as normal soles would be. I expect soon,
however, to be released from a wheel chair and to move about,
if not as freely as before, at least well enough to lead a
normal life.

Ever since my return to the United States I have been im-
pressed by one thing which I had almost forgotten during my
long stay in China, This is the innate sympathy and humani-
tarian spirit of the American people, which has been expressed
to me in hundreds of letters from persons in all parts of the
United States, My will to live and my fight back to normal
health have been greatly aided by the financial support which
I have received from all sides and the warm sympathy expressed
to me for the injuries I suffered at the hands of the Japanese.

/ am now beginning to think of pirns -for the future.

Nothing has occurred in the war to cause me to alter in any
<way my conviction, held long before Pearl Harbor, that
America's stake in the "Pacific is and 'will be a large one. Word
of the victory to which the United States will have contributed
so much in treasure and manpower will penetrate to the peoples
of the remotest corners of Asm. In my opinion, millions of
intelligent Asiatics, who before the war looked to European
countries as the dominant powers in Asia, 'will now turn toward
the new world of the Americas. They will want to know more
about the United States and to be befriended by her. 1 am
certain that all over Ana in the tea houses,, market places and

422 MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHINA

barrios native peoples are talking and thinking about America
'when they discuss the futme of their oivn lands.

Having spent so much of my life in China, 1 find it difficult
to think of my own future except in terms of hers. During the
long night watches in the hospital, when sleep would not come,
I have again and again gone over in my mind the experiences of
those twenty-five years, many of which 1 have recounted in this
book. I open think of the China to which I came as a young
mm in 1917, and I realize \more and more how far she has
progressed since that time and how much her two great leaders,
Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, have ac-
complished in little more than a generation. I am convinced that
after this war is over China, with the proper guidmce and sup-
port, will once more forge ahead as a nation and that her future
will be one of importance to all the world. I hope to have some
part in that future, as I have had in her past.

Index

Abend, Hallett, 189
abortion clinic, 238
"accidents" to neutrals under Japa-
nese aggression, 316
advertising in Moscow, 235, 236
"advertising Japan," 243
African grapefruit, 412
Aguinaldo, 250
airdrome, Chinese, at Himgjao, 297,

300

airplanes, Russian, 208
air route, Alaska-Siberian, 217
Alcott, Carroll, 338, 340, 341
Allman, Norwood T., 338, 341
"Ambassador of Good Will," 48
America in world affairs, 13
America, Russia and China agree-
ment against Japan proposed in
1932, Ch. XVIII, pp. 193-201
American Baptist Mission, 325
American "bluffing" of Japan, 187
American Club in Shanghai, 301, 358
American Committee for Medical Aid

to China, 398

American Committee on Public In-
formation, 45

American Episcopal Mission, 326
American Finance Company, 16
American Information Committee,

333

American magazines in Moscow, 235

American-Oriental Banking Corpora-
tion, 15

American policy in Far East, 83

American Red Cross, 92, 107, 108

American School, 53

American ships, Japanese bombs, Ch.
XXVIII, pp. 3<>5"3i9

American troops in China, 146

Amur River, 173, 174

Amusement Department, Supervised,
Japanese, 328

Anderson, Roy, 107, 117-119, 122, 123
Anglo-American oil trust, 126
Anglo-Japanese alliance, 75, 76
Anti-Comintern Pact, 256, 268, 276,

3i5 344

Anti-Communist movement, 132
Anti- Jewish propaganda, Nazi, 347 ff".
apartment houses in Moscow, 237
apologies for Panay "incident," 315
Argentina, Nazi base in, 344
Arms Limitation Conference, 71
"army in plain clothes," 191
army, Japanese, duplicity of in Panay

bombing, 317

Asama Maru, 345, 405, 407, 4101!.
Asia magazine, 243, 375
Associated Press, 45, 97, 169, 173, 189,

320, 411, 412
Astor House (Shanghai), i, "7, 9, 51,

202

atrocities, 192, 257, 306
Augusta, U.S. cruiser, 315, 318
Australia, 77

automobiles, American, in China, 143
aviation, Russian, 229
Axis orbit in Asia, 345

B

Babb, Glen, 189

"badlands," 335

Baikal, Lake, 80, 210

"bakka," Japanese "bad word," 385

bandit area, 121

bandits, Ch. XI, pp. 92-124

bandit-suppression headquarters, 265

banks, German, in China, 56

banks taken over by Japanese, 360$.,

Baptist mission, American, 325

Bataan, 252

bayonet practice, Japanese, with Chi-

nese as dummies, 307
beer hails of Tokyo, 245

4*4

INDEX

Belgium, 76

Belkire, Robert, 411

Bennett, James Gordon, 271

Bennett, Roy, 117, 118

Bercsford, Admiral Lord, 74

Berube, M., 93, 95

Bess, Demaree, 233

Biro-Bid jhan, 217, 218

"black exchange," 362

black-list, Japanese, 339

Black Saturday, 298

Blagoveshchensk, 199

blood banks in China, 369

blood transfusions, 368, 419

Blue Express, Ch. XI, pp. 92-124

Blue-Green Society, 153, 157

"Bo-bo" Liu, 108

Bogornolov, Ambassador, 202, 203

Bolsheviks, 5^9

bomb attack on author, 339

Borchers, Dr. Johannes, 345

Borodin, Michael, 127, 131, 139, 260

Bosshard, Walter, 186

Boxer indemnity, 69, 70

Boxer Rebellion, 9, 74, 103, 290

boycotting, Nazi, 349

Boy Emperor, 38, 86

Briand, Aristide, 78

Bridge House, horrors of, Ch.
XXXV, pp. 370-382

Bridge House Political Prison, 330

Brister, Mr., 377

Bristol, Mark M., Admiral, 147

Britain, not included in proposed 1932
anti-Japanese pact, 196

British-American Tobacco Company,
323

British banks in Shanghai, 360

British Concession returned to Chi-
nese control, 136

British evacuation of Hankow^ 137

British gunboats and river steamers
attacked, 314

British policy in China, 31

Browdcr, Earl, 143

Brace, George, 359

Bryan, William J, 78

Buck, Pearl, 243

Buddhist inscriptions, 103

Buddhist religion, 282

Bunny, author's daughter, 418

Butler, Nicholas Murray, 62
Butler, General Smedlcy, 146

cable, trans-Pacific, 226

cable, U.S.-Russian, once projected,

225

Camp Stanley, 341
Canada, 76, 77
Cantlie, Dr. James, 29
Canton, 125, 127
"Canton Commune," 155
Canton Volunteers, 129
cartel, Japanese idea of, ^290, 330
Catholic Action, Committees of, 250
Catholic Church in Philippines, 248
Central China Daily News, 338
Central China Religious League, 330
Central Economic Council, 290
Central Press, 296
cereals for China, 398
Chahar Province, 281
Chamber of Commerce, American in

Shanghai, 61, 166, 168
Chambcrlin, William Henry, 234
Chambon, M., Vice-Consul, 197
Chang Chien, General, 149
Chang Ching-kiang^, 132, 133
Chang Chun, Foreign Minister, 259
Chang Hsueh-Iiang, 90, 172, 173, 258-

260, 264

Chang Hsun, 36-39
Chang Po-ling, Dr., 296
Chang, Samuel H., 337
Chang Tso-lin, Marshal, 83, 84, 86-9o,

170, 171, 172, 264
Chapei, 20, 150, 297
"Charter of Liberty," Chinese, 78
Chase Bank, 350, 360
Chautauqua belt, 68
Chceloo Medical School, 401
Chen Chi-inci, 129
Chen, Eugene, 125, ijd, 137, z<5o
Chen Kung-po, 139, 140
Chcn-O'Mallcy agreement, 136, 137
Chen Tu-hsiu, 138-140
Chia Yung-chi, 284

Chiang Kai-shek, 84-89, 128, 129, 132-
134, 139-144, 148, 149, 155, 166, 170-

176, 193, 201, 202, 256-273, 278-280,

296, 344, 415, 422

INDEX

425

Chiang Kai-shek, Madame, 274

Chiang Soh-an, 128

Chiang Ting-wen, General, 266, 273

Chicago Daily News, 174, 189

Chicago Tribune,, 189, 320^., 353

China Brotherhood Society, 29

China-Japan War, 19

China Merchants Steam Navigation

Company, 19
China Press, 97, 104, 106, 107, 258, 336,

338, 340, 34*i 358, 370, 417
China Trade Act, 65, 67
China Weekly Review, 90, 106, 117,

139, 154; Ch. XV, pp. 161-169,

passim; 240, 290, 298, 336, 341, 352,

35%, 37<> 375t 4*5

Chinchow, 186-188

Chinese armies, 163

Chinese banks, 361

"Chinese characteristics," 3

Chinese dollars, 66

Chinese Eastern Railway, 171-173,
176, 196, 216, 222

Chinese Railway Administration buys
steel cars in the U.S., 92

Chinese Recorder, Missionary maga-
zine, 300

Chinese students in American col-
leges, 140

Ching Dynasty, 29, 133

Chingling, 32

Chou dynasty, 266

Chou En-lai, Communist leader, 154,
268, 279

"Christian General," 84

Christian Science Monitor, 233, 234

Chu Peh-teh, 132

Chu Teh, 262, 269, 279

Chung-shan Highway, 130

Churches in Moscow, 237

Church lands in Philippines, 249

Churchill and Roosevelt, 351

Chusan, 294

cigarettes, paper for, in Moscow, 231

civil war in China, Ch. V, pp. 35-42

Clarke, E. G., Captain, 386, 387

"classless" society, classes in, 216

clocks in attempted interview with
General Ma, 200

clubs, foreign, in Shanghai, 55

coalition government, 87

Cochran, William J. H., 71, 74

co-education abolished in Russia, 238
Cohen, Maurice, 33
Colliers, 319
"Columbia Circle," 16
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Cen-
ter, 418

Comintern, 139, 265
Commercial Press, 20
Communism and Nationalism, 145,

148, 151, B *55
Communistic government, failure to

establish in China, 134
Communists, Ch. XIII, pp. 132-140;

Ch. XXIV, passim
community church, 54
"Compub," 45
concessions, foreign, in Shanghai,

passim throughout
Confucius, 266
congestion in Moscow, 236
constitution, 36

Conte Verde, the, 393 -fi.\ 403-409
Coolidge administration, 81, 161
coolie labor, 313
cooperative societies, 283
Corpening, Captain, 322, 323
corpses in the Hai-ho, 284
Corregidor, 252
Cossacks, 58, 59, 202
cost of living in Moscow, 227
cost of travel in Siberia, 204
cotton mills, Japanese, at Tsingtao,

Chinese laborers in, 279
Country Hospital, Shanghai, 323
Cowan, Mr., printer in Shanghai, n
Cox, "Jimmie, 401
crab-apples, "Siberian," 220
cracked wheat, American, in China,

398

Crane, Charles R., 10
Croly, Herbert, 14
Crow, Carl, 45, 107, 117
crows in Shanghai, 25
cruelty, Japanese, 375 ff.
"Culture Bureau," Japanese, 243, 328
Cunningham, Consul, 19, 295

D

Daily Herald, London, 320

Davies, W. R,, 378

Davis, John K M 107, 117, 118

426

INDEX

Davis, R. W., 378

deportation, foreigners listed for, 338

Dewey, Governor Thomas E., 412

diplomacy of Powers in China, 48;
Ch. XV, pp. 161-169

diseases in Shanghai, 24

divorce in Russia, 238

"dogs and Chinese," 25

dogskins, 178

dogs, trained for war in Far East, 221

Doihara, General, 199, 201

Dollar, Capt. Robert, 5

Dollar, J. Harold, 61

Donald, W. EL, 271, 275

Dooran, Eugene H., 411

"dope" trade in China, 73

Dorftnan, Ben, 190

Dou Yu-seng, 152, 154-159

drag trade by Japanese in China, 73,
285, 286, 288

dummies for bayonet practice, Japa-
nese use Chinese as, 307

Dyer, Leonidas C., 64

East India Company, British, 295
education in Philippines, 254, 255
Eizo Shima, Japanese racketeer, 289
embargo, U.S., on scrap, etc., feared

by Japanese, 397
emigree Russians, 58, 221
Empress Dowager, 30
engineers, American, in Russia, 224
Episcopal Mission, American, 326
espionage, Japanese, 54; author ac-
cused of, 387
evacuation, Chinese from Japan, Japs

from China, 297

exchange of civilian prisoners, 399
Executive Yuan (Committee) of

Nanking Government, 273
extraterritoriality, 55, 78, 82, 125, 363
Ezras, the, 351

fairs, Mongolian, 178

Far East, American business in, 61

Far Eastern Red army, Russian, 221

Far Eastern Review, 168

Far Eastern Soviet Army, 175

Far Eastern Trading Corporation, 173

Farrar, Senor, 185, 192

Farren, Joe, 329

Fascism, 234

"Fascist Club" in Harbin, 197

Fascist Party in Shanghai, 314

F.B.L, 415

Federal incorporation, 61, 67

feet, author's, treatment of in Shang-
hai, 392; in N. Y., 393 ff.

Feng Kuo-chang, 40

Feng Yu~hsiang, Marshal, 84-87, 172

fertilizer in China, 27

Fessenden, Stirling, 158, 326, 327

Fifteenth U.S. Infantry, 108

fire department, Shanghai, 21

Fischer, Dr. Martin, 344, 346

Fishery Bureau, Russian, 209, 212

fishery industry, Japanese "reorgani-
zation" of, 331

"Fish-skin" Tatars, 174

flag, American, desecrated by Japa-
nese, 314

Fleet, R. Hayton, 198

Fleischer, Wilfred, 10, 375

FHck, C, 346

Flick-Steger, C., 346

flies, 24

Fodder, Robert, 347

food of Bridge House prisoners, 381,
389

food shop in Moscow, author's expe-
rience m, 231

Fong, Professor, 294, 295

Foochow, 129

Ford, "Hank," 412

foreigners in Shanghai, 25

"Foreign Firm," Japanese trick, 286

forests of Siberia, 219

Forrest Wilbur, 173

Four-Power Naval Limitations Treaty,
308

Fourteen Points, 47

France, silk and curio trade with
China, 133

"Free City" project, 168

French, the, as foreigners," 79

French Concession given up, 362

French language in international
meetings, 79

Friedman, Leon, 104

Fuchin, 174

Fuchs, Walther, 345

INDEX

427

Fulton Market, 53
furs, 178

Fu Tso-yi, General, 282
future of China, 421, 422

Galen, General, 127

gambling dens, 328

Gande, Bill, 377

Gandhi, Mahatma, 391

"Gangster" Dou, 152

Gardiner, Dr., 391, 392, 399, 401, 403

gasoline embargo, 379

Gauss, Clarence E., 161, 164

Geist, Lieutenant John Willard,

U.S.N., 319
"General" Cohen, 33
Genghis Khan, 176, 179, 217, 281
Germany and Russia, 344
Germany in Far East, 38, 54, 55, 73,

3 1 * 343

Gibbons, Floyd, 189, 321
Gillctt, Speaker, 65, 66
girls recruited for cotton mills in

Osaka and geisha houses in Tokyo,

244

Glassford, Admiral, 356, 377
Goctte, John, 412
Gorman, George, 192
Gort, Lord, 147
Gould, Randall, 338, 341
Great Wall, 87, 186, 188, 278, 280,

283
Grew, Joseph C., Ambassador, 309,

316, 411

Grey, Lord, 48

Gripsholm, the 327, 359, 362, 404, 410
Grusenberg, 127
Guardian, Manchester, 320
"gunboat policy," 168
gunboats, American, 30, 136, 155

H

Hai-ho, floating corpses in, 284
Handbook of Soviet Union, 218
Hankow, 31; victory over "capitalistic
imperialism," 135; Red regime, 139
Hannibal, Mo., 2
Hanoi, 153
Hanson, George, Consul-General, 177

Harada, General Kumakichi, 317
Harbin, 171, 173, 177-180; Harbin

newspapers, 198

Harding, President Warren, 62, 63, 71
Hardoons, the, 351
Harkness Pavilion, 418
Harris Morris J., 189, 412
Hart, Admiral Thomas C., U.S.N.,

35<5, 377

Hart, Betty, 338

Hashimoto, Kingoro, Colonel, 314-317
Haverford College, 337
Hay, John, 73, 74
Hayim, Ellis, 377
health, 24

Helmick, Judge Milton J., 17
Henry Pu-yi, 39
Hensley, Malcolm Stewart, 418
Herald (N.Y.), 8, 9, 271
Herald, Daily, London, 320
Herald Tribune, New York, 173, 188,

3". 375 377
heroin poisoning, 284
Hill, Max, 411

Hinghan Mountains, 175, 199, 200
Hin Wong, 2
Hirohito, Emperor, 211, 303, 316, 376,

3%

Hirokichi Otake, 258
Hirota, Koki, Foreign Minister, 316
Hitler in Far East, 344
Hochi, Tokyo newspaper, 269
Holcomb, Chauncy JP.
"Hollywood," Shanghai, 329
Ho Lung, General, 262
Honan, Jewish colony in, 349
Hongkew, i, 19, 53, 297, 325, 360
Hong Kong, 15, 28, 29, 68, 69, 294
Honjo, General, 186, 190
Hoover, Herbert, 64, 81
hotels in Vladivostok, 212
housewives, American, in Shanghai,

52, 53

Houston, Consul, 155

"How They Lie," booklet, 351

Howe, Jim, 173

Hsuan T'ung, 31

Hua Mei Wan Pao, Chinese news-
paper, 336

Huang Hsing, General, 30

Hudson, Professor Manley O., 156

Hu Feng4in, General, 103

428 INDEX

Hughes, Charles E., 77, 79, 80
Hu Han-ming, 128, 130, 133
Hunan, 85; source of Red propaganda,

Hungjao, Chinese airdrome at, 297,

300

Hungutzu, 87, 88

Hunt, William P., and Company, 19
Hunter, Edward, 189
Hu Shih, Dr., 415
Hwangho, Yellow River, 283

ice cream, 87, 411

Idzumo, Japanese battleship, 297, 300,

302, 304

Imperial Conference in London, 76
incorporation, Federal, 61
India, 77

Indo-China, 74, 153
indoctrination, Japanese, in hatred, 307
industrial development at Mukden,

226

industrialization, Russian, 230
industry under Japanese control, 330
inflation, 136, 350
Information Committee, American,

333

Inner Mongolia, 87, 177, 196, 282
Institute of Pacific Relations, 183
intermarriage in Siberia, 218; in Phil-
ippines, 254
international law, Japanese violations

of, 316
International News Service, 189, 402,

412
International Settlement, Shanghai, 9,

16, 19, 26, 124, 137, 202, 298, 325,
327, 329, 337, 340, 350, 362

intervention, Ch. XV, pp. 161-169, 234

Intourist Travel Agency, Russian,
203, 204, 208, 215

invasion, Japanese, expected in Si-
beria, 220

Ishii, Baron, 47

islands, Pacific, mandated, 72, 73

Italy protests to Japan, 314

Jabin Hsu, 335
Jacobson, Miss, 411

Japan, in Korea, 34; in China, 37, 43-
50; and Arms Conference, 75; and
Chinese bandits, 105; coast scenery
of, 205; pact against, that might
have been in 1932, Ch. XVIII, pp.
193-201; "non-aggression" policy,
297

Japan Advertiser, 10, 375

Japan-America Society, 243

Japan Chronicle, 182

Japanese, in Inner Mongolia, 179; in-
vasion of Manchuria, 182; "rights"
in Manchuria, 190; atrocities, 182,
306; Embassy in Moscow, 239; con-
sulate at Vladivostok, 241; "Culture
Bureau," 243, 328; resistance to, in
Manchuria, 281

"Japanese-American War Imminent,"
1939 book, 332

Japanese attack Shanghai, 355 fL

Jehol, 186, 281

Jew as bandits' prisoner, 104

Jews, Oriental, 12; Russian, 217

JofTe, M., 125

John Day Company, 243

Johnson, Nelson T., Ambassador, 310

Jordan, Sir John, 80

Johnstone, Dr. William Crane, Jr.,
363

K

Kalgan, 87, 280

Karakhan, L. M., 126, 127, 170, 173

Kaspe, Joseph, 196

Kaspe, Simeon, 196-198

Kato, Count, 44

Katsuhei Zama, 258

Kawagoe, S., Ambassador, 259

Keen, Victor, 188, 311, 377, 400

Kellogg, Secretary of State Frank B.,

i6r, 165

Kenji Doihara, General, 199, 201
"key" city (Shanghai), 151
Khabarovsk, 174, 217, 220, 221
Kiangsi Road, 12
Kiangwan prison, 389
kidnap plot against Chiang Kai-shek,

268
killing contest by Japanese officers,

305, 306
King Features, 414

"King of Scrap," 246

Kingdom of Wu, 85

Kingoro Hashimoto, Colonel, 314-317

Kinney, Henry W., 192, 309

Kinsley, Phil, 62

Kobe Harbor, explosion in, 394

Komosols, 215, 225, 238

Konoye, Prince, Japanese Premier,
303

Korea, 34, 189, 207; American mis-
sionaries in, 211; native troops, 211;
Japanese defenses of, 241, 242; mar-
kets of, 242

Korean University, 211

Koslovsky, Consul, 202

Kremlin, 227

KrutofT, Commissar Gregori, 220-224

Kuang Hsu, Emperor, 31

Kuh, Frederick, 189

kulaks, 216

Kung, Dr. H. H., 258, 271-277 passim

Kuominchun, "National" Army, 172

Kuomintang, 9, 28-32, 41, 75; conflict
with Communist Party, 131-139;
Communist partnership, 141, 143,
151, 155, 156, 260, 265, 350 and passim
throughout

Kwangchowan, 74

Kwanghua University, 325

Kwantung army, 195, 221, 308

labor in Shanghai, 26

labor under Soviet Union, 215

Labor University, Shanghai, 325

Ladybird, British gunboat, 318

LaFollette Act, 6

LaFoIlcttc, Senator Robert, 6B

Lahasusu, 174

Lake Baikal, 220

Lama temples, 282

Lansing, Robert, 47

Lao Tzu, 266

"last line of defense," Chinese, 296

La Stamp a, 314

laundryman, Chinese, 81

LaVoy, Merle, 413

League of Nations, 71, 168, 185, 188,

190, 193, 194, 229, 280, 282
Lena River Valley, 217
Lenfers, Fr., 105, 109-111

429

Lenin, 142

Leonard, Rev. Charles, 180

Liberal Party, 35

liberation or liquidation, 307

libraries, 69, 70

Li Chi-sheng, General, 132, 148

Life, 413

Lindbergh, Charles A., 353

Lippmann, Walter, 14

Literary Digest, 14, 169

Li Tsung-jen, General, 132, 148, 151,

154, 278
LitvinofT, Foreign Commissar Maxim,

193

Liu, "Bo-bo," 108
Li Yuan-hung, 32-36
lobbying, Ch. VIII, pp. 61-70
Lobingier, Charles S., Judge, 15
Lockhart, Frank, 411
London JDaily Herald, 188
London Daily Telegraphy 192
looting by Japanese, 306
loss of face, 313
Lourenco Marques, 4071!.
Lou Tseng-hsiang, Dr., 44, 46 "

M

Ma, General, 199-201

Ma Chanshan, 199, 200

Macao, 28

MacArthur, General, 247, 250, 251,

276
McConnick, Colonel Robert R., 61,

320, 322, 324

McCracken, Dr. J. C., 401
McFadden, Miss, 92
machine-gunning of Panay survivors,

319

Mackay radio, 341
MacKay, J. A., 360, 366
MacMurray, John Van Antwerp, 80
Madame Chiang Kai-shek, 303, 304
"makakas," 215

Manchester Guardian, 189, 320
Manchouli, 174

Manchu Dynasty, 38, 153, 256
Manchu Government, 29
Manchukuo Government, 199, 218,

280, 344 ,

Manchuria, 44
"Manchurian Tiger," 88

430

INDEX

mandated islands, 73, 195

mandated islands, Japanese, 258

Manila, Ch. XXIII, passim

Manila Bulletin, 117

Mao Tse-tung, 138, 139, 262, 269, 279

Marco Polo, 27

Marine barracks, U. S., hit by Jap

bomb, 304
Marine Hospital, 418
Marines, U. S., 60, 291, 356
markets, municipal, taken over by

Japan, 395
Mark Twain, 2
marriages, international, 60
Marshall, Jim, 319
Martinoff, 197
mass migration, 216
Maxim uorky, The, 229
Mayer, Rudolph, 372
Mehnert, Dr. Klaus, 346 4
Mei-an, the, sunk with Panay, 313
Meighen, Arthur, 76
Mei-ling, 267

Meleney, Dr. Frank L., 393, 419
Melinkorf, 210
Mencius, 266

Mercantile Fleet, Soviet, 173
Metropole Hotel, meeting of Ameri-
cans in, 364, 365
Meysinger, Colonel, 346
Michigan, University of, 335
Millard, Thomas Franklin Fairfax, i,

7-11,90, 194

Millard's Review, 11, 15, 35, 39"4i 90
militarists, Chinese, 85
militarists, Japanese, encouraged by

weak policy of U. S., 310
military matters in Russia, 229-230
Military Party, 35, 36
Mills, Hal P., 338
"mining machinery," Japanese guns

so labeled, 192
missionaries, 123, 141, 168, 211, 262,

295, 300, 307, 330, 333, 401
missionary doctors, 417
mission boards, i&, 19
missions, 144

Missouri, University of, i, 338, 418
"Mister Smith," 52
Mitsunami, Teizo, Rear Admiral, 318
"Model Village," 52
Moderne, The, 181

money, American, in Moscow, 227
Mongolia, trading customs of, 178;
horse racing in, 179; conditions in,

2 57

Mongolian atrocities, 257

"Mongolian People's Republic," 257

Monroe Doctrine, 74

Morin, Relman, 402

morphine ' factories, 288

Morris, John, 189

Morton, Capt. Henry, 9, 52

Moscow, Ch. XXI, pp. 227-238

Moscow and Berlin, 223

Moscow Daily News, 139

mosquitoes, 23

Mo Tzu, 266

Mount Pai-tzu-ku, 104, 109, 113, 119

Moy, Herbert, 347

Municipal Council, reorganization of,
360

Musso, "Commendatore" G. D., 92,
98, 99, 101, 113

Mussolini, Benito, his newspaper, 314

Mukden, Japanese occupation of, 185;
Japanese "tourists" in, 191; indus-
trial center, 226

Myers, W. R., 288

N

Nakamura, Captain, 182, 183, 197
Nankai University, destroyed by Jap-
anese, 296

Nanking, 29; provisional government,
133; puppet government, 140; rape
of, 306

Nankow Pass, 280
Nantao, 150
Naphtha Trust, 173
narcotics, trade in, 288, 328
Nation, The, 375
National City Bank, 360, 378
National Finance Ministry, 335
National Government of China, 29
nationalism, 46, 131, 134, 145, 148, 151,

161-163

Nationalist Revolution of 1927, 351
naval base, Japanese, at Chusan, 296
Naval Limitation Treaty, 257
naval ratio, 77
navy, Chinese, 41

INDEX

431

Navy Purchasing Bureau, U. S., at
Shanghai, 302

Navy, U. S., Admiral Yarnell to "ig-
nore" Japanese dictation, 315

Nazi flag off China coast, 293

Nazi propaganda, 343

Nazis in Shanghai, 56

Netherlands, 76

neutralized area, 121

New Moscow (Novo Moscotia)
Hotel, 227

New Republic, 14

"new spirit in Far East,** Japanese
idea of, 317

newspaper men in Russia, 231, 232,

Newsweek, 14

"New World," 300

New York Herald Tribune, 173, 188,

3 ir > 375i 377

New York Times, 71, 87, 189, 402
New Zealand, 77
"Nichi-Bei Sen Chikashi," 332
Nichi-Nichi, Tokyo newspaper, 269,

3<>5

Nicholson, Martin R,, 411, 412
Nine-Power Treaty, 77, 78, 122
"Ningpo" tea, 295
Nippon Maru, steamship, 4
Nonni River, 199
North China Daily News, 10, 144,

145, 258, 299
North China Star, 337
North Manchurian resources, 177
Northrop bombers, 302
Nottingham, E. S,, 359
November Tenth Celebration, 210
"Number 76 Jessfield Road," 335

Oahu, U.S.S., 318

occupation, Japanese methods of, 283

occupation of Shanghai by Japanese,

opium and heroin, use of encouraged

by Japanese in China, 285, 287
Osaka, scrap storage yards in, 246
Oliver, Frank, 189
Outer Mongolia, 182, 196, 405
Outline of Reconstruction, 131
"out-port," 405
over-production, 230

O'Doherty, Archbishop, 248, 250

OGPU, 208, 215, 216, 239

oil, 126, 205

Okamato, Consul, 297

Okhotsk, Sea of, 213

O'Malley, Consul-General, 136

Open Door Policy, 20, 47, 73, 74, 83

Pacific Mail, 5

Pacific Relations, Institute of, 183

Pacification Commissioner, 266

Pai Chung-hsi, General, 154, 278

Pailingmiao, 282

Palace Hotel, 125

Panay, U. S. gunboat sunk by Japa-
nese, 309-323

"Pang-ban," 115, 117, 118

Pau Ku, Secret Police head, 269

Paotingfu, 128

Paotow, 282

paper supplies in Russia, 231

Parliament, Peking, 35, 38

paving in Shanghai, 26

Peace Preservation Corps, 297

Pearl Harbor, 332, 343

Pearson, Joseph, 311

peasant tenants, 249

Peiping, 264, 280, 281, 282, 283, 290,
291, 296

Peipmg Political Council, 290

Peking, 28, 35, 36, 38-41, 83, 84, 264,
280

Peking Daily News, 40, 43

Peking Y. W. C. A., 86

"People's Livelihood," 131

"People's Principles," 131

Perry, Commodore, 295

Peters, Mayor "Andy," 66

Petrel, British gunboat, 356

Philippines, in '36, Ch. XXIII, pp.
247-255

photographs as evidence of Japanese
atrocities, 307, 308

Pickens, Robert, 168

Pinger, Major Roland, 92, 113

Pirelli, Signorina, 93, 98

Pittman, Key, Senator, 315

"Pittsburgh of China," 135

Pogranichnaya, 174

432

INDEX

Politburu, Far Eastern, 220

politics in Moscow, 234

Poltava, 5

Pootung, 150

Popolo d'ltalia, 314

Port Arthur, 122

Portugal, 76

Poset Bay, 196

Powell, Bonney, 240

Powell, John William, son of author,

341

power plant, Shanghai municipal, 325
Powers, the, and Manchuria, 185, 186
Pravda 233
Presbyterian Medical Center, N. Y.,

393
President Lines, 245

Press Wireless, 311, 341, 357
prices in occupied Shanghai, 367
propaganda, use of planes in, 229;
Japanese domestic, 245; German,

345i 34<$

"propinquitous territories, 49
psychological warfare, 208
pulpwood in Siberia, 226
punkah, 21

Purple Mountain, 130
Pu-yi, "Emperor," 376

Quezon, President Manuel, 249, 250,

251

Quincy Whig, 2
Quo Tai-chi, 193

R

racial issue in Siberia, 219

Radek, Karl, 86, 128, 233 ^

radio, Nazi in China, 347; in Shanghai,
357; Japanese, 401

'Radzoyevsky, 197

railroads of Far East, 222

Ramos, Benigno, 250

Ranson, Dr., 393

rape cases, 156, 157

Rashin, Korean port, 241

Raven, Frank J., 15, 16, 168

Rawlinson, Rev. Dr. Frank, first for-
eigner killed in China-Japan war,
300

RCA, 341

Rea, George Bronson, 168

Reader's Digest, 14, 414

Reconstruction Plan, 131

"Red-Bearded Bandit," 87

Red Cross, American, 301, 302, 397;
Ambulance Corps, 418; Interna-
tional, 405

red light district, 12

Reds, in China, Ch. XXIV, passim

Red Square, Moscow, 130, 203, 229

"Red Star over China," 139

"Red Wave on the Yangtze," 144,

147* I0 * 2

Reid, Dr. Gilbert, 38

Reinsch, Dr. Paul S., 45-50

religion in Moscow, 237

Religious League, Central China, 330

Remer, Dr. Csurl T., 415

Remington Arms Company, 172

renegade radio reporter, 400

rents in Moscow, government regu-
lation of, 237

resources, natural, of Siberia, 219

Renter's, 162, 189, 351, 402

Rio de Janeiro, 415

river navigation, 173

roads, in Siberia, 210

Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 92

Rockefeller Institute, 130

Rodov, Boris, 258

Rogers, Will, 189

Roosevelt, Mrs. Eleanor B., 303, 304;
President F. D., 316, 35*~353 379i
408; President Theodore, 34

Ross, Charles G., 414

Roy, 139

Royal Dutch Shell, 126

"running-dog" of imperialists, 148, 151

Russell and Company, 18

Russia and the Russians, 49, 57-60, 80,
88, 125, 130, 170-181, 193, 196, 217,
218, 223, 263

Russo-German war, 277

Russo-Japanese neutrality treaty, 194

Russo-Japanese war, 88

Sacred Farming Society, 289
St. Lows Post-Dispatch, 414, 418
St. LuJke's Hospital, 401

INDEX

433

Saito, Hiroshi, Ambassador, 315, 316

Sakdalistas, 249, 250

Sakhalin, 195, 213, 226

Sammons, Thomas, 9

Sanders-Bates, J. A. E., 338

Sandri, Sandro, 315

sanitation in Bridge House prison, 379

sanitation in China, 51

Sanpehj the, 293

Sassoon, Sir Victor, 348, 359

Sassoons, the, 351

Sato, General, 333

Schonberg, Mile., 92, 94, 96

School of Forestry, 88

Schurman, Dr. Jacob Gould, 106, 121

Scott, Rev. and Mrs. Charles Ernest,

262

scrap, steel, in Japan, 245, 246, 331
Scripps-Howard newspapers, 173
seamen, American and Chinese, 6
Seamen's Acts, 69
secret agreements and treaties, 49, 71,

259

Seitz, Carl, 61
Sellett, George, 17
Seminov, Atarnan, 220
Seventh Day Adventist mission, 302
Seventh Day Adventist missionary

doctor, 264
sewage disposal, 26
Seward, Secretary William H., 224
sham battle becomes real, 291
Shamoons, the, 351
Shang, House of, 266
Shanghai, passim throughout
Shanghai, Battle of, 297-304
Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury,

33$' 33i 342, 359. 3^ 400
Shanghai Labor University, 325
Shanghai Law College, 17
Shanghai Nippo, the, 279, 297
Shanghai Opium Combine, 93
"Shanghai Problem, The," 363
Shanghai Times, 342
Shanghai University, 325
Shanhaikwan, 188
Shantung, 485 Chap. IX, pp. 71-82;

112

"Shantung dog," roi
"Shantung tarnales," 101
Shao-Hwa Tan, Dr., 415
Shao Li-tze, Governor, 266, 268

Sheba, Kimpei, 243, 324

Shields, Dr. Randolph, 401

shipping, American, 6

ships, Chinese, in "paper transfer" to

Germany, 293
shipping in Moscow, 230
Shun Pao, 338, 339
Sian Incident, Ch. XXIV, pp. 256-269
Siberia, 175, 210; Ch. XX, pp. 215-

226;_ 344

"Siberian Anna," 238
"Siberian" crab-apples, 220
Sikhs, 138
Silver State, the, 83
Simms, William Philip, 173
Simpson, Lenox, 198
Singer Sewing Machine Company,

.37?

Sinkiang, 199

Sino-Japanese Cultural Society, 284
Sister Helen, 398, 403
skin grafting, 419
skyline, Manhattan, 417
slang name, Russian, for Japanese, 215
Smith, Arthur H., 3
smuggling by Japanese, 288
Snow, Edgar, 139, 154, 188
societies, Blue and Green, 153
Socony Vacuum Oil Company, 97,

3*3, 378

Soong, Charles Jones, 32
Soong, T. V., 274-276, 415
South China, Ch. XII, pp. 125-131
South Manchurian Railway, 189
Soviet influence behind Chinese com-
munists, 142

Soviet mercantile fleet, 173
Soviet Far Eastern Trading Corpora-
tion, 173

soya-bean oil, 222
Spain and the Spaniards, 248, 249
Special Service Section, Japanese, 288,

328
speculators, Japanese, in land in

China, 289
Speelman, M. 348
spheres of influence, 78, 122
Spiivanek, Counsellor of Embassy,

202

springs, healing, 179
Stalin, 86, 139, 142, 228, 233, 238
Stam, Rev. and Mrs. John, 262

434

INDEX

Standard Oil, 126
Stark, Admiral, 57, 58
Starr, C. V., 338, 341
State Department, U. S., weak policy
of in Far East, 37, 45, 310, 315, 331,

34*

Statue of Liberty, 417
"stink-pots of Asia," 27
stores, official, in Russia, 230
stowaway, 405
Strawn, Silas H., 81
Student Movement, Chinese, 46
submarines, Russian, 207; Nazi, 416
subway, Moscow, 232
Sugiyama, General, War Minister,

297

Suiyuan Province, 281
Sun Chuan-fang, General, 149
Sun Fo, 139
Sungari River, 173, 174
Sung Cheh-yuan, General, 281, 282,

283, 284, 291

Sun Ming-chiu, Lieutenant, 275
Sun Yat-sen, Dr., 9, 28-42, 75, 82, 84,

89, 125-130, 133, 137, 139, 422
surplus products in Russian economy,

230

Sven Mao-yao, 94, 114, 122
sweatshops in Moscow, 232
Sze, Dr. Sao-ke Alfred, 73, 75, 80
Sweetland, Reginald, 189
Swiss Consul-General, 390, 399

Taft, Henry, 80

Taft, William Howard, 15, 249

Ta Kung Pao, Chinese newspaper^

269

"Tammany tactics," 327
Tang Leang-li, 337, 352
"Tangtu Truce," 259
tanks, Russian, 211
Tashiaki Mukai, Sublieutenant, 305
Tatar a Mara, 357
Tatars, 174
Taube, Baron, 174
taxes, 26, 2*44
Taylor, Carson, 117
tea, 204, 295
Teh, Prince, 259, 282

telegram, circular, sent by Young
Marshal, 270

telephone in Shanghai, 20, 52

Texas Oil Company, 126, 385

theaters in Moscow, 237

Third International, 143

Tientsin, 40, 284, 285, 289, 290, 344

timber in Siberia, 219

Time, 14

Times, New York, 71, 87, 189, 402

tobacco in Siberia, 215

Toda, 3

Tokyo, civilian and military authori-
ties in, 242

Tokyo Military Academy, 128

Tolischus, Otto, 402

Tong, Hollington K., 2, 43

Tong Shao-yi, 9, 10, 41

Toyo Kisen Kaisha, 4

trade expansion in China, 67

Transocean News Service, 347, 352

Trans-Siberian Railway, 203, 207, 216,
222

treaties, secret, 71 t

"tribes" in USSR, 219

Tribune, Chicago, 320, 321, 322

Trotsky, 86, 127, 139, 142, 143, 234

Tsai Ting-kai, General, 278

Tsaochwang, 112, 119

Tsaochwang coal mine, 104

Tsiangtao, 33, 43, 73, 74, 78, 80, 105,
108, 121, 178, 279

Tsitsihar, 177, 199

Tsu Hsi, 30

Tuan Chi-jui, 32, 35, 36

Tuan, Premier, 39

Tuchuns, 35, 36,^89, in

Tung Meng Hui, 29

Twentieth (XXth) Century, The, 346

Twenty-one Demands, 37, 43

"Two Men on a Boat," booklet, 351

U

Ukraine, 216
Ullstein Press, 186
Umetzu, General, 259
Underwood, J. J., 161
"united front," 268, 269, 270
United Press, 189, 351, 411
United States Court for China, 15,
17, 167, 362

INDEX

435

United States Health Service, 418
United States Navy in Chinese wa-
ters, 315

United States weakness in Far East-
ern diplomacy, 309
University Press in Shanghai, 338
USSR, and war in North China, Ch.

XVI, pp. 170-161
utilities, 330, 359, 396

Vacuum Oil Company, 126
Valparaiso University, 127
Verea, Mr. and Mrs. Ancera, 92, 99
vice racket, Shanghai, 329
Vichy, 362

"Village Life in China," 3
Villard, Oswald Garrison, 14
Vines, Frank H., 323
violation of neutrality agreement al-
leged by Japan, 297
Vladivostok, 58, 196; Ch, XIX, pp.

2O2-2 14

Volunteer Corps, 22

Voroshilov Iron Works, 209, 211

W

Wake, U.S.S., 356 ,

Walsh, Richard J., 243
Wang, bandit, 118
Wang Ching-wei, 87, 129-133, 138-
140, 264, 269, 328, 329, 335, 337, 338,

344, 34<5, 35 2 > 3& 3 6 3
Wang, Dr. C. J., 41, 126
Wangtu, the, 314
War Lords, 41, 84
"warning to editors/* 334
warships, Japanese, enter Swatow

Harbor, 296
Washington Conference^ Ch. IX, pp.

71-82; 83, 105, 122, 257
Watanabc, Mr,, 54
Watari, Major, 187, 189, 100
"Watch on the Pacific," 194
water works, Shanghai municipal, 325
Webster, Dr. Jerome P., 393, 419, 420
Wei-hai-wei, 122
Wen, S. J., 107
Wendler, Ernst, 346
Western Residential District, 26

Western supremacy, 13 1

Whampoa Military Academy, 129,

132

Whangpoo River, i, 18
wharf coolies, Chinese, strike of, at

Swatow, 297

Wheeler, U.S. Senator, 353
White, Jimmy, 412
"White Guards," 203
White Russians, 175, 176, 181, 197,

203, 219, 234
Wiedemann, Captain Fritz, 343, 344,

345

Wiegand, Karl von, 346

Williams, Admiral, 165

Williams, Dean Walter, i

Williams, Dr., of Nanking Univer-
sity, 156

Williams, Frank, 411

Wilson, President Woodrow, 38, 47-

49

Wilson, Tug, 337
Wo, General, 97
women, status of in USSR, 238
women workers in Moscow, 232, 233
women workers in Siberia, 206
Wong, Chinese editor, 335
Wood, Mary Elizabeth, 69, 70
Woodhead, H, G. W., 365
Woo Kya-tang, 338
Woosung, Japanese land at, 297
world politics, China as a center of,

266
World War H, "Real" Start of, Ch,

XVII, pp. 182-192
World War I, 6, 34, 36, 40
Wright, Paul, 174
Wu, General, 97
Wuchang, 30
Wu-Han, 134, 135
Wu Pei-fu, Marshal, 50, 83-86, 88
Wu Su-pao, 33d
Wu Ting-fang, i, 41

XGRS, Nazi radio, 347
XHHB, Nazi radio, 347
XMHA, American radio in Shanghai,

338
XXth Century, The, 346

436

INDEX

Yakhontoff, Victor A., 242
Yakut nation, 216, 217
Yamamoto, Lieutenant, 387, 401
Yang Hu-cheng, General, 260, 267,

2 74> 2 75> 279
Yangtzepoo, 19
Yangtze Valley, plans for invasion of,

147

Yarnell, Admiral Harry E., 315
Yasumara, Rev. Sabrow, 330
Yeh Chien-Ying, 268
Yellow Flower HiU, 30
Yen, Dr. W. W., 193
Yerkes, Rev. Carroll H., 104, in
Yihsien Mission, 104

Yin, Ju-keng, 283
Y. M. C. A. in Harbin, 180
Yonai, Admiral Mitsumasi, 332
Young Marshal, the, 172, 173, 264, 265,

267, 269, 270, 272, 275, 281
Youth Organization, Communist, 215,

225
Yuan Shih-kai, 9; Ch. IV, pp. 28-42;

43, 44, 133

Yui, O. K., Mayor of Shanghai, 298
Yu Pin, Paul, Bishop, 250
Y. W. C. A., Peking, 86

Zionist Movement, 217
Zinsser, Christian, 346

z

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